This paper presents the findings of a quantitative analysis on industrial relations in 273 public administration establishments in Lombardia. The research was carried out in 1991. A questionnaire was submitted to unions representatives, and the response rate was 41.7%. Our findings show different styles of industrial relations in three sectors of the public administration: health, central state and local administration. In the health sector, relationships between parties at the local level are frequent. Collective negotiation is very articulated and does not rule out conflicts between the administration and the trade unions. In the central state sector, relationships are more centralized and regulated. In the last sector, the local administrations, one finds a mixed system of relationships between the parties, in which formal and informal interactions coexist.