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Social partners' levers: job quality and industrial relations in the waste sector in three small European countries

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  • Ole Henning Sørensen
  • Vassil Kirov
  • Ursula Holtgrewe

Abstract

This article examines how social partners in the waste sector in Austria, Bulgaria and Denmark strive to protect job quality from negative impacts of two European trends: privatisation and greening. The article uses qualitative, comparative research to examine social partners' levers for protecting and improving job quality. Three levers are identified: negotiation power, collective agreements and general regulation that facilitate negotiation and social partnership. In general, privatisation has had a negative influence on job quality and the levers of collective actors, whereas the impact of greening is ambiguous, that is, not necessarily positive. The article concludes that stakeholders' ability to improve job quality is contingent upon their activity on both a national and European level.

Suggested Citation

  • Ole Henning Sørensen & Vassil Kirov & Ursula Holtgrewe, 2018. "Social partners' levers: job quality and industrial relations in the waste sector in three small European countries," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 242-258, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:49:y:2018:i:3:p:242-258
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12213
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    References listed on IDEAS

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