IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/treure/v21y2015i3p343-357.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Central and Eastern European trade unions after the EU enlargement

Author

Listed:
  • Marta Kahancová

    (Central European Labour Studies Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Abstract

This article presents recent responses on the part of Central and Eastern European (CEE) trade unions to economic and social challenges in the post-enlargement period. Shifting the focus away from structural union weakness, the article looks at trade union potential for action, organizational capacity, resource building and policy influence. Despite their structural weaknesses, CEE unions demonstrate capacities that might enable them actively to shape working conditions and their internal resources are not completely depleted. However, the character of these resources and the kinds of union action have been changing. Traditional resources based on membership and involvement in collective bargaining have lost prominence in favour of unions’ increased focus on mobilization, public protests and political support.

Suggested Citation

  • Marta Kahancová, 2015. "Central and Eastern European trade unions after the EU enlargement," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(3), pages 343-357, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:21:y:2015:i:3:p:343-357
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258915585946
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1024258915585946
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1024258915585946?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Magdalena Bernaciak, 2015. "Beyond the CEE 'black box': crisis and industrial relations in the new EU member states," Working Papers 13554, European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).
    2. Magdalena Bernaciak, 2013. "Social dialogue revival or ‘PR corporatism’? Negotiating anti-crisis measures in Poland and Bulgaria1," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 19(2), pages 239-251, May.
    3. Jan Drahokoupil & Martin Myant, 2015. "Labour’s legal resources after 2004," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(3), pages 327-341, August.
    4. Epp Kallaste & Charles Woolfson, 2013. "Negotiated responses to the crisis in the Baltic countries," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 19(2), pages 253-266, May.
    5. Richard Hyman, 1997. "The Future of Employee Representation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 309-336, September.
    6. Streeck, Wolfgang, 1992. "National Diversity, Regime Competition and Institutional Deadlock: Problems in Forming a European Industrial Relations System," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 301-330, October.
    7. Marta Kahancová, 2013. "The demise of social partnership or a balanced recovery? The crisis and collective bargaining in Slovakia," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 19(2), pages 171-183, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vera Glassner, 2013. "Central and eastern European industrial relations in the crisis: national divergence and path-dependent change," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 19(2), pages 155-169, May.
    2. Magdalena Bernaciak, 2015. "All roads lead to decentralization? Collective bargaining trends and prospects in Central and Eastern Europe," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(3), pages 373-381, August.
    3. Francesco Bagnardi & Valentina Petrović, 2020. "Post-socialist labour and the dual logic of collective action: workers’ unrest and trade union strategy in Fiat Automobiles Serbia," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(4), pages 415-430, November.
    4. Bryson, Alex, 2001. "Union effects on managerial and employee perceptions of employee relations in Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 4957, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Dagmara Nikulin & Małgorzata Gawrycka, 2021. "Implementation of the Concept of Flexicurity in the Selected Countries of Central Eastern Europe," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 1, pages 118-141.
    6. Miguel Martínez Lucio & Stefania Marino & Heather Connolly, 2017. "Organising as a strategy to reach precarious and marginalised workers. A review of debates on the role of the political dimension and the dilemmas of representation and solidarity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(1), pages 31-46, February.
    7. Aleksandra Gregorič & Thomas Poulsen, 2020. "When Do Employees Choose to Be Represented on the Board of Directors? Empirical Analysis of Board‐Level Employee Representation in Denmark," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(2), pages 241-272, June.
    8. John T. Addison & Alex Bryson & Paulino Teixeira & André Pahnke & Lutz Bellmann, 2013. "The Extent of Collective Bargaining and Workplace Representation: Transitions between States and their Determinants. A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Great Britain," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(2), pages 182-209, May.
    9. Ilaria Armaroli, 2022. "Integrating direct employee voice within the framework of worker representation: The role of an Italian trade union in organising disintermediation," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(2), pages 658-684, May.
    10. John T. Addison & Alex Bryson & Paulino Teixeira & André Pahnke & Lutz Bellmann, 2013. "The Extent of Collective Bargaining and Workplace Representation: Transitions between States and their Determinants. A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Great Britain," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(2), pages 182-209, May.
    11. John T. Addison & Alex Bryson & Paulino Teixeira & André Pahnke, 2011. "Slip Sliding Away: Further Union Decline In Germany And Britain," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(4), pages 490-518, September.
    12. Ines Wagner & Nathan Lillie, 2014. "European Integration and the Disembedding of Labour Market Regulation: Transnational Labour Relations at the European Central Bank Construction Site," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 403-419, March.
    13. John T. Addison & Claus Schnabel, 2011. "Worker Directors: A German Product that Did Not Export?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 354-374, April.
    14. Alan Tuckman & Jeremé Snook, 2014. "Between consultation and collective bargaining? The changing role of non-union employee representatives: a case study from the finance sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 77-97, January.
    15. Franz Traxler & Bernd Brandl, 2009. "Towards Europeanization of Wage Policy," European Union Politics, , vol. 10(2), pages 177-201, June.
    16. Keith Sisson, 2001. "Pacts for employment and competitiveness – an opportunity to reflect on the role and practice of collective bargaining," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 7(4), pages 600-615, November.
    17. Panagiotopoulos, Miltiadis, 2005. "The Evolution of Trade Unions in Britain," MPRA Paper 4290, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2007.
    18. Christian Lévesque & Gregor Murray, 2010. "Understanding union power: resources and capabilities for renewing union capacity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 333-350, August.
    19. Gollan, Paul & Markey, Ray & Ross, Iain, 2001. "Additional forms of employee representation in Australia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 5033, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2016. "Unions and the economic basis of attitudes," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 360-378, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:21:y:2015:i:3:p:343-357. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.