I lavori essenziali di cura. Nozione, qualificazioni e destinatari

The reflection on essential work includes that on care work within contemporary societies, addressing with particular attention the dynamics of marginalisation and derogatory logic that affect it. Through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, the text analyses the intersections between paid and unpaid work, gender, disability and institutional recognition, highlighting the regulatory criticalities and ambivalences produced by the digitalisation of welfare in a context that has been left on the margins, despite its social importance. The theoretical elaboration, developed in light of recent legislative interventions in favour of an ageing population, is accompanied by proposals for legal and political reformulation, aimed at recognising the social value of care work and promoting inclusive and redistributive models. The contribution is part of the international debate on social justice, sustainability and the transformation of working paradigms that are set to affect the maintenance of positive law, attentive and sensitive to the changing nuances of a constantly evolving reality in which protections intertwine the rights of those who offer assistance, in the form of domestic and care work, and those who request assistance.