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Trade unions and the politics of the European social model

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  • Hyman, Richard

Abstract

There is a consensus among European trade unions that economic integration should be complemented by a strong ‘social dimension’. What is far less clearly agreed is what ‘Social Europe’ means, and how it should be defended against the challenges inherent in a neoliberal approach to economic integration, the dominant logic of ‘competitiveness’, and the pressures for ‘modernization’ of social welfare. Unions’ ability to resist these challenges is weakened by their integration into an elitist system of EU governance in which mobilization and contention are inhibited. The article concludes that a new mode of trade union action is required if the ‘social model’ is to be sustained.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyman, Richard, 2005. "Trade unions and the politics of the European social model," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 753, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:753
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Nicole Lindstrom, 2010. "Service Liberalization in the Enlarged EU: A Race to the Bottom or the Emergence of Transnational Political Conflict?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48, pages 1307-1327, November.
    3. Jordan Rosenblum, 2024. "Politics, markets, and CEO pay: a congruence analysis of two competing theoretical explanations of executive compensation at large firms in Finland," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 413-444, February.
    4. Jacobi, Otto & Jepsen, Maria & Keller, Berndt & Weiss, Manfred (ed.), 2007. "Social embedding and the integration of markets: An opportunity for transnational trade union action or an impossible task?," Study / edition der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf, volume 127, number 195, June.
    5. Nicole Lindstrom, 2010. "Service Liberalization in the Enlarged EU: A Race to the Bottom or the Emergence of Transnational Political Conflict?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 1307-1327, November.
    6. Bengt Furåker, 2020. "European trade union cooperation, union density and employee attitudes to unions," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(3), pages 345-358, August.
    7. Christian Dufour & Adelheid Hege, 2010. "The legitimacy of collective actors and trade union renewal," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 351-367, August.
    8. Ali İhsan BALCI & Mehmet GÜLER, 2019. "Avrupa İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonunun (ETUC) Küreselleşme Bağlamında Değerlendirilmesi," Journal of Social Policy Conferences, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 0(77), pages 383-420, December.
    9. Hermann, Christoph & Mahnkopf, Birgit, 2010. "The past and future of the European Social Model," IPE Working Papers 05/2010, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    10. Torsten Müller & Hans-Wolfgang Platzer, 2020. "The European Trade Union Federations within the European polity: ETUFs and international trade union activity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(3), pages 289-305, August.
    11. Manuela Galetto & Sabrina Weber & Bengt Larsson & Barbara Bechter & Thomas Prosser, 2023. "‘You see similarities more than differences after a while’. Communities of Practice in European industrial relations. The case of the hospital European Sectoral Social Dialogue," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 167-185, March.
    12. Milan Zafirovski, 2022. "Some dilemmas of economic democracy: Indicators and empirical analysis," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 252-302, February.
    13. Jane Lethbridge, 2011. "Social dialogue in the hospital sector at EU level," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 17(4), pages 501-513, November.
    14. Satoshi Nakano, 2014. "Maastricht Social Protocol Revisited: Origins of the European Industrial Relations System," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 1053-1069, September.
    15. Seeliger, Martin & Wagner, Ines, 2016. "Workers united? How trade union organizations at the European level form political positions on the freedom of services," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/16, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    16. Sarrah Kassem, 2022. "(Re)shaping Amazon labour struggles on both sides of the Atlantic: the power dynamics in Germany and the US amidst the pandemic," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 28(4), pages 441-456, November.
    17. Raquel Rego & Ana Espírito-Santo, 2023. "Beyond density: Improving European trade unions’ representativeness through gender quotas," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(4), pages 415-433, December.
    18. Markos Vogiatzoglou, 2015. "Workers’ transnational networks in times of austerity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(2), pages 215-228, May.
    19. Jamie Jordan & Vincenzo Maccarrone & Roland Erne, 2021. "Towards a Socialization of the EU's New Economic Governance Regime? EU Labour Policy Interventions in Germany, Ireland, Italy and Romania (2009–2019)," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(1), pages 191-213, March.
    20. Richard Hyman, 2011. "Trade Unions, Lisbon and Europe 2020: From Dream to Nightmare," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 45, European Institute, LSE.
    21. Mareschal, Patrice M., 2017. "Public Sector Labour Relations in the United States: Austerity, Politics and Policy [Arbeitsbeziehungen des öffentlichen Sektors in den Vereinigten Staaten: Austerität, Politics und Policy]," Industrielle Beziehungen. Zeitschrift für Arbeit, Organisation und Management, Verlag Barbara Budrich, vol. 24(4), pages 450-471.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    European integration; trade unions; social dimension; competitiveness; elitism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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