Penelope’s web and its weavers|La tela di Penelope e i suoi tessitori

The article underscores the contemporary relevance of Umberto Romagnoli’s reflections on labour law as a construct that is “more doctrinal than legislative and more jurisprudential than doctrinal”, characterized by a constant evolutionary process referred to as “micro-discontinuity”. This idea seems to be confirmed by the latest developments within Italian jurisprudence, both in the context of labour relationships mediated by digital platforms and in the matter of fair compensation under Article 36 of the Constitution. The litigation involving gig workers serves as a useful testing ground to assess the scope and effects of certain legislative innovations (notably those set out in Article 2, paragraph 1, Legislative Decree no. 81/2015, as amended by Law no. 128/2019, and Article 1, paragraphs 233 and following, Law no. 234/2021). Furthermore, the recent jurisprudential stance of the Court of Cassation on the topic of proportional and sufficient compensation may potentially spur legislative action on the issue of a legal minimum wage, provided that the institutional resistance that still exists in Parliament and the CNEL can be overcome.