bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Services Directive: the legislative process clears the first hurdle
Authors: Kowalsky Wolfgang
Published: January 2010

In January 2004 the European Commission put forward a proposal for a Directive on services in the internal market that triggered considerable controversy both within the European institutions and amongst the public at large. It was praised by its proponents as a breakthrough for the internal market and sharply criticised by opponents as being a neoliberal abandonment of the Community approach that would merely encourage social and ecological dumping. This paper looks beyond the polemics, myths and ideological battles associated with the issue and attempts to examine the core elements of the proposal in order to identify its objectives and the problems associated with it. It also traces the intensive work carried out by the European Parliament, which discussed the proposal over a period of two years before coming to a decision on it. The ETUC critically monitored the Parliament and the Council during this process, articulating its demands very clearly — and with a large degree of success — through a combination of intensive lobbying and demonstrations.
Varieties of capitalism: the importance of political and social choices
Authors: Almond Phil , Menendez Maria Gonzalez
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the influential Varieties of Capitalism argument (Hall and Soskice 2001) that economies tend to one of two forms of capitalism - liberal market and coordinated market economies - with different employment policies being conducive to economic success in each. An analysis of the relationship between financial and labour market systems suggests that the links between the two operate in a less deterministic way than is suggested by Hall and Soskice. This suggests that industrial relations actors are not prisoners of coordinated or liberal systems, and that ‘political’ choice retains a significant role in changes to employment systems.
Interest representation between social partnership and solidarity
Authors: Baglioni Mirella
Published: January 2010

This article examines how unions can represent workers in a labour market that is increasingly divided into insiders and outsiders. The first part of the article focuses on prospects for solidarity in the context of current bargaining structures and considers new forms of regulation that allow for more universal forms of wage protection, including a European minimum wage. The second part of the article discusses the introduction of new negotiation practices that allow - through social partnership - for employee representation and protection at the workplace.
FDI patterns and trends in central and eastern Europe with particular regard to the new Member States
Authors: Hunya Gábor , Galgóczi Béla
Published: January 2010

This article examines foreign direct investment (FDI) in the European context and assesses the significance of relocation of production and workplaces from the west to the east. The first part of the article provides a statistical overview of FDI in central and eastern European countries (CEECs) for the last five years. Structural features of FDI flow and stock are presented and the trend of an increasing role for reinvested profits is examined. The second part focuses on the qualitative features of FDI and foreign trade. It provides evidence of the incidence of relocation, the growing role of intra-industrial trade, and the changing role of manufacturing in the economies of the EU-15 and the CEECs.
Introduction: employee representation and voice in small and medium-sized enterprises - the SMALL project
Authors: Bouquin Stephen , Leonardi Salvo , Moore Sian
Published: January 2010

This article introduces the SMALL project, its key research questions and methodology. It places SMEs within the context of the wider European economy. It sets out the data on union membership in SMEs which suggest that across Europe union membership is lower than in larger organisations. It then looks at rights to representation in SMEs and how thresholds based upon the number of employees reduce the potential for representation. The article explores collective bargaining coverage in SMEs. It considers the relationship between centralised collective bargaining systems and union membership in SMEs and the extent to which such systems can protect the terms and conditions of workers, drawing upon the case study evidence to suggest that such systems do not always ensure collective representation and organisation at workplace level. The article concludes by considering the steps that unions may need to take to address this.
The European system of small- and medium-sized enterprises
Authors: Palmieri Stefano
Published: January 2010

As the European Commission has indicated, SMEs have a key role to play in stimulating job creation and in improving European competitiveness. This article provides an overview of the position of SMEs in the economic system of the European Union and highlights the weaknesses that constrain SMEs in fulfilling that key role. The article also explores the factors that promote profitability in SMEs at the expense of productivity, including low pay, poor working conditions and long working hours. It proposes that there is a contradiction between the representation of SMEs as a strategic lever in pursuit of the Lisbon goals, and the reality that European SMEs are generally incapable of generating either technological innovation or continuing education and training, leaving them ill-equipped to compete in global markets.
Determining wages in Europe's SMEs: how relevant are the trade unions?
Authors: Andersson Monica , Thörnqvist Christer
Published: January 2010

This article discusses wage setting in SMEs in eight European countries, how wage setting in small firms differs from that in larger firms and how trade unions address the issue. The context is the increased decentralisation of wage setting. Wage setting is analysed at four different levels: the workplace, the regional, the industry and the national level. The main finding is that trade unions' ability to secure higher wages for workers in SMEs depends not upon workplace organisation, but upon well functioning industrial relations institutions. That is, if workers in SMEs earn less than employees in larger companies, this is due not to the size of the company but to the absence of a comprehensive collective bargaining system that encompasses SMEs.
Working time in European SMEs
Authors: Alves Paulo , Bouquin Stephen , Poças Luís
Published: January 2010

Working time has always been a source of conflict in industrial relations. Working time has been viewed as a policy tool to save jobs, to create jobs, to balance work and private life, and to enhance the competitiveness of firms. This article draws upon the SMALL research project to assess the extent to which we can observe differences between SMEs and larger organisations with regard to working time and whether the presence or absence of unions makes any difference for employees. It suggests that there is an inverse relationship between the size of the company and average working hours. The informality which characterises employment relations means that working time in SMEs can be flexible. This may offer opportunities for workers to achieve some work-life balance; at the same time it may also mean that they are obliged to work longer and less social hours.
Active change strategies for trade unions
Authors: Hammarström Olle
Published: January 2010

Structural change often means major changes in organisation and job losses. The normal reaction from employees is to oppose restructuring and to want to keep things as they are. Rather than just trying to oppose the proposition from management, the union may formulate their own alternative. With two propositions on the table, the negotiations may open up to more alternatives and compromises, as well as more partners and alliances. Consumer groups, the general public and governments are more likely to be supporters if the union has its own proposition. If the unions are not in a position to present alternative solutions, they may at least be able to formulate principles for alternative solutions. Examples of this type of strategy can be found at GM Europe where the unions managed to reduce lay-offs through an alternative strategy. Similar union policies can be found in the public sector in Sweden where unions got support from customers and the general public in resisting cutbacks.
Restructuring in an enlarged Europe: challenges and experiences
Authors: Meardi Guglielmo
Published: January 2010

This article presents historical and aggregate data on restructuring in central and eastern Europe, and some examples from multinationals in Poland and Hungary. It shows how the violent structural readjustment process of the 1990s has left important social, political and psychological legacies which affect current approaches to restructuring. The new EU Member States, faced with relocations both to the west (in capital-intensive industries) and further east (in low-skill labour-intensive industries), therefore need employee participation mechanisms, cross-border information and western solidarity to ensure the social acceptability of change.
Racism and anti-racism in Europe: a critical analysis of concepts and frameworks
Authors: Erel Umut
Published: January 2010

The targets and expressions of racism vary across Europe. This article discusses the relevance of different descriptions and analyses of racism. It considers the various terms used in different countries such as ‘ethnic minority’, ‘foreigner’ or ‘black’ to identify people considered as ‘others’ because of their ‘race’ or ethnicity and the significance of differences in terminology. The article shows the importance of a cross-national European perspective on racism. There are important convergences across European countries in the discourses and practices of racism, particularly the distinction between ‘useful’ and ‘abusive’ migrants. A cross-European perspective can be an important inspiration for anti-racist struggles.
Racism in post-communist Bulgaria and trade union responses
Authors: Zhelyazkova Antonina , Angelova Violeta
Published: January 2010

This article describes Bulgaria's difficult transition to a market economy and the significantly high unemployment rates among its substantial Turkish and Roma minorities, as well as Bulgarian Muslims. It discusses the history and debates on using the terms ‘racism’, ‘xenophobia’ and ethnic ‘discrimination’ in Bulgaria. It also traces the reasons for the appearance of an ultra-right nationalist party. It then focuses on the role of the trade unions, their activities and their influence on the minorities. The general non-discriminatory policy of the trade unions is outlined as well as some examples of good union practices.
Corporate governance, workers' participation and CSR: the way to a good company
Authors: Kluge Norbert , Schömann Isabelle
Published: January 2010

Enterprises and investors nowadays typically go beyond national borders. After a decade in which the interests of shareholders in increasing their profits were all that seemed to count, more and more transnational enterprises have come to recognise that they have to be socially responsible in the wide sense if they are not to lose legitimacy. This introductory article considers the link between tried and tested forms of interest representation and the demands for a more socially responsible corporate governance of transnational enterprises in the context of the new financial capitalism and globalisation. Currently, workers participate in decision making on the basis of existing European participation rights and they are involved in developing new kinds of agreement on social responsibility at the global level. These international framework agreements (IFAs) are increasingly forming part of the contemporary understanding of what constitutes a good company.
The evolution of capitalism and the future of employment policy in the EU
Authors: Bé Dominique
Published: January 2010

The emergence of the financial capitalism model in continental Europe is not unrelated to the debate on reform of the European social model, the paradox being that now that workers have gained ownership of the means of production, they actually control them less and less. This evolution is liable to affect the basis of a social model traditionally anchored in Rhineland capitalism, the more so in that the globalisation of financial flows has reduced the control exercised by the EU over its enterprises. The trade unions are concerned at the impact of these developments on companies' behaviour in the social sphere, in particular as regards the co-determination, information and consultation of workers. Yet the development of employee shareholdings and pension funds opens up new opportunities for trade union action, entailing the growing involvement of employees in corporate governance which is thus becoming a major challenge for workers and, more broadly, for employment policy and its relationship to other policy areas, above all the internal market.
From shareholder value to private equity – the changing face of financialisation of the economy
Authors: Evans John , Habbard Pierre
Published: January 2010

Across the OECD, a process of financialisation of the economy can be observed. Defined as the increasing dominance of the finance industry over the real economy and workers, financialisation can take different forms, including: growing instability and opacity of financial markets, increasing focus on shareholder value and the rise of alternative investors. This article reviews in particular the challenges to trade unions posed by the rise of the shareholder value model of governance in listed companies – as seen during the review of the OECD Corporate Governance Principles in 2004 – and more recently the boom in private equity buyout transactions. The trade union response to financialisation has followed two tracks: (i) to engage in regulatory advocacy at national and international levels for stakeholder approaches to corporate governance and financial markets and (ii) to mobilise workers' capital managed by pension funds to ensure responsible and long-term investor behaviour.
The WTO – a driving force for the liberalisation of public services in the EU?
Authors: Raza Werner
Published: January 2010

Liberalisation of public services can be implemented not only through autonomous legislative action by individual countries, but also as a consequence of obligations arising from membership of supranational or international organisations. This article analyses how the process of the commodification of services at the level of the WTO, i.e. via the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), interacts with the politics of trade and services liberalisation in the European Union. Thus, we highlight the specific role of services negotiations in the WTO for the political dynamics of liberalising public services in the EU. Our conclusions highlight three specific functions of the GATS agreement: first, it serves as an institutional mechanism to ‘lock-in’ liberalisations achieved at a national or European level, secondly, it exercises a disciplinary effect on national regulation, and, thirdly, it provides an additional platform for the application of forum-shifting in the politics of international trade.
Liberalisation and privatisation of public services and strategic options for European trade unions
Authors: Schulten Thorsten , Brandt Torsten , Hermann Christoph
Published: January 2010

This article argues that liberalisation and privatisation of public services in Europe have had a significant impact on employment and working conditions. Our basic hypothesis is that companies affected by growing competitive pressures increase efforts to reduce labour costs. The consequences are, on the one hand, the reduction of public sector employment and, on the other, a transformation of the traditional public sector labour relations regime (LRR). While employees were previously treated as a relatively homogenous workforce, liberalisation and privatisation have fuelled divisions, fragmentation and individualisation. In some sectors and countries this has led not only to a substantial deterioration of employment and working conditions but also to the emergence of a two-tier workforce. From this perspective liberalisation and privatisation represent a considerable threat to workers and therefore the trade unions, which have at their disposal a number of strategies to respond to the new challenges, including fighting privatisation, demanding strong sector-wide regulations and campaigning to strengthen the public sector.
Social pacts, collective bargaining and trade union articulation strategies
Authors: Molina Oscar
Published: January 2010

This article analyses some implications for trade unions of social pacts. Unions' participation in tripartite agreements has been one response to tensions triggered by the decentralisation and individualisation of employment relations. However, their involvement in social pacts renders it increasingly difficult for unions to strike a positive-sum balance between competing logics of influence and membership. Following an analysis of four countries with social pacts, this article shows that trade unions' participation in social pacts has been most successful when unions have pursued a strategy of ‘articulation’ between their different levels of organisation by enhancing the participation of rank-and-file members in decision making and by strengthening company level representation structures.
Putting security at the heart of the European social pact – proposals to make flexicurity more balanced
Authors: Vielle Pascale , Bonvin Jean-Michel
Published: January 2010

The concept of flexicurity opens up new avenues for rethinking our approach to social integration and security for Europe's citizens. In the current European debate, however, flexicurity is out of balance on two levels: it leans too far towards flexibility at the expense of security, and it is too focused on the labour market (and increasing employment rates) at the expense of other aspects of quality of life. This article suggests ways to rebalance flexicurity, giving more substance to ‘security’. In particular it proposes that, in addition to the mutualisation typically found in conventional social security strategies, services of general interest and time and space policies should also be developed. It recommends the negotiation of a new social pact in which all partners (not just the social partners) should have their say. The conclusion highlights the particular role of the EU in promoting harmonising measures and establishing new instruments for security and different ways of approaching public funding and investment.
Job advertisements and personal networks: two specific channels in the Spanish labour market
Authors: Rieucau Géraldine
Published: January 2010

Drawing on an employee labour survey, this article explores job-finding channels in the Spanish labour market and points out that social networks are the most important way of finding a job. It focuses on a comparison between an informal channel (relatives and close personal relationships) and a formal one (job advertisements), and demonstrates that these channels serve two specific segments in the labour market. The most important results concern workers' profiles: advertisements are highly selective because they tend to focus on tangible reference points (education level, prior work experience, age, sex), while social networks exclude people with poor connections in the labour market but might favour applicants without qualifications or experience.
Irregular immigration: economic convenience and other factors
Authors: Ambrosini Maurizio
Published: January 2010

This article illustrates the factors leading to the entry of irregular immigrants and their integration into the labour market, that is to say: the economic convenience for both businesses and families of employing unauthorised manpower; the support from compatriot networks and ethnic economies; the embedded liberalism within democratic states' legal systems; the cost and organisational difficulty of controls and expulsion; and the part played by solidarity providers in civil society, including trade unions. Repeated mass amnesties especially in southern Europe, periodically regularise the situation of these migrants and function as the principal tool of migration policy. To this extent, the irregular immigrant appears to be a transitional figure, awaiting recognition and destined to obtain authorisation sooner or later. Trade unions are one of the social groups pushing for the enactment of regularisation measures. In this way they are asserting their attachment to the ideals of justice and solidarity, while at the same time combating the unfair competition which the hidden economy poses to law-abiding companies and declared workers.
Migration and trade unions. A comparison between Dutch and Italian trade union actions and strategies
Authors: Marino Stefania , Roosblad Judith
Published: January 2010

Migration, whether regular or irregular, is on the increase, despite the general spread of restrictive immigration policies at both national and EU level and the intensification of national border controls. However, its features and the ways in which actors deal with it differ by country, depending on national circumstances. In this article we examine the strategies and actions of Dutch and Italian trade unions towards both regular and irregular migration. The main aim is to underline the influence of both external (context embedded) and internal (union embedded) factors on trade unions' attitudes and responses.
Tightening immigration policies and labour market impacts
Authors: McKay Sonia , Wright Tessa
Published: January 2010

The opening up of the European Union has encouraged a shutting down of borders to third-country nationals and in almost every Member State measures have been put in place to restrict such immigration. The consequences, as this article demonstrates, will be first to drive more people into undocumented status, with an accompanying worsening of employment rights and secondly, to racialise migration, through entry rights being denied primarily to those from the developing South. The UK is introducing a points-based system that limits entry from outside the EU to the highly skilled, and the government is at the same time targeting ‘illegal working’. Based on recent interviews, this article demonstrates the immediate and negative impact of some of these measures on migrants already working in the UK.
The Lisbon strategy and structural reforms in Europe
Authors: Amable Bruno , Demmou Lilas , Ledezma Ivan
Published: January 2010

The Lisbon strategy, launched in 2000 to promote growth and employment by developing a highly competitive European economy, is an incoherent mixture of economic liberalism, social democratic aspirations and neo-Schumpeterian technological determinism. This article presents the macroeconomic environment of the Lisbon strategy and calls into question the generally accepted notion that Europe lags behind the USA in terms of productivity and innovation. It discusses the implications of the most important integrated guidelines that member countries should follow to implement the Lisbon agenda and argues that they represent more a neoliberal programme than a renewal of the European social model. This article also presents the results of empirical work that tested the effectiveness of the various market liberalisation measures promoted by the Lisbon agenda. These results show that one should not expect significant results in two key areas: innovation and employment.
Participation through the Lisbon strategy: comparing the European Employment Strategy and pensions OMC
Authors: Natali David , Porte Caroline de la
Published: January 2010

The present article aims to shed light on the concrete implementation of the Lisbon strategy with regard to its governance framework and to participation (of social partners) in particular. The focus is on the European Employment Strategy (EES) (defined in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 and then integrated into the broader Lisbon strategy that emerged in 2000) and the open method of coordination on pensions (the process of soft coordination of pension reforms agreed at the Stockholm Council of 2001). While the EU discourse has a strong emphasis on social partnership, evidence from the two cases in this article shows limited participation. While social partner access varies considerably between coordination processes, it is evident that expectations concerning increased participation have not been fulfilled in the Lisbon strategy.
Functionalism vs Westphalia: the looking glass of employment policy
Authors: Ross George
Published: January 2010

Many key ideas in the Lisbon strategy can be traced back to the Delors Commission's 1993 White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment, arguably the EU's first major effort to confront the economic and social realities of globalisation. At the time the White Paper failed to achieve the results it sought. However, the core of the White Paper's labour market issues were taken up by the Amsterdam Treaty which initiated the European Employment Strategy and its innovative methodology, the open method of coordination (OMC). The Lisbon strategy, which followed soon thereafter, broadened this approach into a new mission to enhance the competitiveness of the EU which used the OMC extensively. However, EU Member States, zealous of their prerogatives in economic, labour market and social policies, were unwilling to grant the EU level significant roles for transnational coordination and implementation in these areas. The results have not matched the outpouring of support for Lisbon from progressive intellectuals and centre-left politicians. In the critical policy areas that the 1993 White Paper, the EES and the Lisbon strategy have addressed, contradictions between intergovernmentalism and the need for European coordination have led to suboptimal results.
The Lisbon strategy a decade on: a critical review of a multi-disciplinary literature
Authors: Natali David
Published: January 2010

This article provides a brief review of the literature on the Lisbon strategy. The aim is to shed light on the changing attitudes of experts and academics towards the strategy (both on its launch in 2000 and during its subsequent evolution through the mid-term review of 2004–05). The focus of the article is on three main questions: the political and economic rationale of the strategy, the use of participation to increase EU democratic legitimacy, and the cognitive potential of the strategy through learning dynamics. Three broad tensions seem to require more political and analytical attention. The first tension has to do with the reform of the European social model; the second is related to the ambiguous compromise between the supposed depoliticisation of socio-economic reforms through the Lisbon strategy and the aim of improving participation of stakeholders; and the third tension has to do with the respect of national competences on the one hand, and the improvement of strategy's efficacy to shape cognitive and normative maps on the other. For all these, the Lisbon project has represented a first, but not definitive, answer.
The World Bank's Doing Business Report: A last fling for the Washington Consensus?
Authors: Bakvis Peter
Published: January 2010

The Washington Consensus policies of privatisation and deregulation promoted by the international financial institutions (IFIs) became increasingly controversial during the 1990s, and in 2004 the World Bank's president declared the consensus to be ‘dead’. However, a new push for across-the-board deregulation, notably in the area of workers’ protection, started in 2003 through an annual World Bank publication, Doing Business, which proclaimed a wide range of labour regulations to be nothing more than a hindrance to investment. The IFIs used it to pressure dozens of developing countries to do away with workers’ protection rules, contending that deregulation was necessary to stimulate employment growth, even though the Bank's own internal evaluators were unable to corroborate the claimed link between the Doing Business labour indicator and positive economic outcomes. Faced with mounting pressure from unions, the ILO and elected officials, the Bank finally instructed its staff in 2009 to stop using the indicator and removed it as a conditionality criterion, declaring that the global economic crisis justified adopting a different policy approach.
The Swedish Ghent system and trade unions under pressure
Authors: Kjellberg Anders
Published: January 2010

In January 2007 the Swedish centre-right government in office since September 2006 raised considerably fees for union unemployment funds. Union membership (fund membership included) therefore suddenly became much more expensive. Trade unions lost 8% of their members over two years and union density fell by 6 percentage points, while unemployment funds were hit by a still larger decline. In 2008, fund fees were more closely linked to the rate of unemployment among the members of each fund. The result was a marked social polarisation of fund fees, in 2009 further sharpened by accelerating unemployment. In addition to describing the consequences of the government policy, this article discusses the ambition of the government to influence wage formation by remodelling the Swedish Ghent system.
Decent work: indexing European working conditions and imposing workplace tax
Authors: Tangian Andranik
Published: January 2010

This article indexes working conditions using data from the Fourth European Working Conditions Survey 2005 for three purposes. (1) Benchmarking countries and social groups. This reveals poor qualification and career opportunities, and modest incomes. Atypical workers have less advantageous working conditions than those in permanent full-time jobs. This shows that Europe is still far from creating ‘better jobs’ as advocated in the Lisbon agenda. (2) Analysing the flexicurity concept as proposed by the European Commission. Our study disproves the assertion that European workers are less interested in remaining with the same employer but need more flexibility combined with ‘upward mobility’ and lifelong learning. Moreover, Europe has a shortage of training possibilities and workers demonstrate latent resistance to learning. The basis for the Commission's promotion of flexicurity would thus seem questionable. (3) Proposal of a workplace tax for bad working conditions. As with ‘green taxes’, the workplace tax would encourage employers to improve working conditions. Indexing individual working conditions with reference to a checklist, as developed in the article, could be a prototype for measuring ‘social pollution’ to determine the amount of workplace tax.
The modernisation of trade unions in Denmark
Authors: Lind Jens
Published: January 2010

The experience of the past 20 years of declining membership rates in most European countries is no doubt the main reason for identifying a crisis of trade unionism, prompting a direct opportunity to look further into what might be the reason, what has gone wrong and what should be done to modernise trade unions to get them back on the main track again. In Denmark, however, declining membership rates are not the starting point for investigating what unions could do better. Unlike most other European trade unions, the Danish trade unions have experienced a constant increase in trade union membership rates - approximately 80% of all wage earners are unionised in 1994 - but this does not indicate that trade unionism in Denmark does not have any problems. Neither does it mean that the unions are beyond criticism nor that they do not need to implement changes in a modernising effort. The unions are aware of this and indeed so are their critics.

To evaluate the necessity for modernisation, the changes in society - especially changes in working life and the political/ideological environment - are a starting point, and this is closely connected to the second topic to be dealt with here, namely the changing contours of the (potential) members. Thirdly to be discussed are issues and trends in collective bargaining, including the international perspectives, and fourthly trade union structures and internal functioning. Finally some main perspectives of change will be pointed out concentrating on the role of trade unions in society and membership participation.
Modernisation of trade unions in Spain
Authors: Miguélez Faustino
Published: January 2010

Spanish unions are facing the same challenges as other European unions - but they are also having to cope with the economic, political and cultural legacy of the Franco regime. In this article, Faustino Miguélez, looks at how that legacy has coloured their response to issues like unemployment, the changing labour market, and the impact of new technology.

Despite their low membership, the unions still exert great influence on Spanish society. They are trying to overcome their historic divisions, and to broaden their social base by building closer links with other civic groups. They are making determined efforts to attract the growing number of women workers and workers in insecure jobs to the union movement. Membership is strong in the public sector, and among the new high-tech workers. But the unions have made little impact in the burgeoning number of small firms, and their internal structure has to become more decentralised. As for Europe - that will have to wait. It barely figures on the agenda of most Spanish workers, says Senor Miguélez, and union policy reflects this. The emphasis is still mostly on regional and national issues. Perhaps that too is a legacy of the isolationism of the Franco regime.
The European Works Council: an institution yet to be established?
Authors: Bélier Gilles
Published: January 2010

This article examines areas of concern for unions as the European Works Council (EWC) directive is incorporated into national law, and they prepare for- the business of actually setting up the councils.

The timing of EWC meetings; the information they have access to ; and their impact on existing consultation procedures - these and other areas may yet cause problems for the unions.

French company councils could be especially under threat. How EWCs are made up is a matter for negotiation, while the composition of French councils is part of national labour law. These national stipulations may clash with aspects of the EWC directive.

This example shows the delicate balance that needs to be struck between the role of local representative bodies and the strategic nature of the EWC.

However this is to be done, unions would do well, the article says, to heed the advice of the ETUC - don't wait for the laws incorporating the EWC to be put in place; start talking now.
Directive 94/45/EC - outlook for application in companies
Authors: Richard Olivier
Published: January 2010

Europe's employers have always opposed the European Works Council Directive, and they still do, says UNICE's Olivier Richard. But now that it has been adopted, it has to be applied. The way forward for employers is to go for voluntary agreements with the unions that will satisfy the directive's requirements, and avoid the imposition of a single consultative model.

There is enough flexibility in the directive - thanks to the employers - to give negotiators room for manoeuvre. The three years allowed to set up voluntary deals should see some imaginative and innovative agreements that will benefit management and workers.

But this flexibility has to kept to the fore; Mr. Richard adds a final warning to legislators, and to the working group set up by the commission to oversee the transposition of the directive into national law: their role should be to reduce sources of conflict, not to tighten up the directive.
Trade union development in the CEECs
Authors: Tapiola Kari
Published: January 2010

Transition from totalitarian single-party systems carries with it the danger of deunionisation. Trade union organisations can disappear when the structure of the economy changes profoundly. Old structures have only partially been dismantled in the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). A proper division of authority between owners, managers and trade unions has not yet emerged. The economic and social crisis, with rampant poverty and rising unemployment, limits the scope of action of trade unions. Austerity programmes seriously limit collective bargaining. Rates of unionisation go down, and unions are particularly weak in new private activities. After decades of forced consensus from above, it is difficult to build organisations based on democratic delegation of authority. The future of the trade unions will be seriously affected by the choice of development model of the different countries. With wider income differentials and rising poverty and social exclusion, this model in all countries will not be that of a "European" welfare state.
Regulated deregulation - an option for Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Lecher Wolfgang , Optenhögel Uwe
Published: January 2010

This contribution assesses the process of deregulation as it has taken place to date in the most important countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs), with special reference to the social and labour components of the process and to trade union and indutrial relations developments. In the first instance, the authors employ descriptors appropriate for examination bf any system of labour relations, namely, solidarity and social justice; the bargaining culture inherited by the trade unions and their role as intermediary organisations and structures for the balancing of interests within society.

Subsequently, in a second stage, an attempt is made to describe certain strategic areas for trade union policy in which appropriate action would best enable a comprehensive modernisation of labour relations, while at the same time maximising the CEECs' opportunities for integration within a future united Europe. The areas described are: the demise of the Fordist approach to labour via a process of systematic rationalisation; an integrated policy of poverty relief and social welfare; the shift towards a workplace-oriented trade union and collective bargaining policy; and the challenge facing the trade unions of organising the recruitment of new highly qualified and, in many cases, strongly individualised groups of workers, the "winners" of transformation, particularly those workers employed in the newly set up "joint ventures" . The name given to the approach thus described is the path of "regulated deregulation".
The PHARE programme and the social dimension 1990-1995 - an overview
Authors: Langewiesche Renate
Published: January 2010

PHARE is the European Union's largest multilateral aid programme. Since 1990 the Union has used the programme as one of several instruments designed to support the processes of reform in Central and Eastern Europe. Over the next five years PHARE will allocate at least ECU 5 billion for this purpose. A special feature of the programme is that within the framework of the programme's general aims it is the governments of the recipient countries that decide which projects to fund, without having to inform, consult or involve major social groups, such as the social partners. Moreover, during the first three years of PHARE's existence, the programme almost exclusively focused on economic reforms - without consideration of the social dimension. Although the European Commission has recognized since 1992 that PHARE should also take account of the Social Dialogue and the role played by the social partners in the economy and in society, the social partners have continued to be excluded from the programme by the governments in the recipient countries. Admittedly, things are now starting to change in some countries, especially as a result of the programmes on the Social Dialogue, but the European Trade Union Confederation and its partners in these countries are continuing to run up against political barriers. The trade unions are now endeavouring to ensure that PHARE - in the wake of the strategy set out at the Essen Summit for bringing the region in question closer to the EU - becomes a genuine instrument for promoting European integration. Such an instrument can only be successful if the social dimensions of the processes of reform are backed by the EU.
From golden age to crisis: patterns of stabilisation policy in Sweden and Finland compared Background: contrasts and parallels in policy developments
Authors: Pekkarinen Jukka
Published: January 2010

This article examines the "Nordic model" of economic and social corporatism through a period of success and stability in the post-war period up until the mid-1970s, and the subsequent crises which were encountered. While basic features of the model can be found in all the Nordic countries (a tri-partite negotiating framework which seeks to reconcile competing pressures for competitiveness, internal stability and employment), the article argues that Keynesian style demand management was a relatively minor part of the system, although the state played an active role in economic matters.

The article also explores the changes in economic management over time in the different Nordic countries, and with particular reference to Sweden and Finland examines the important differences in national approaches. The central purpose of this discussion is to throw light on whether the recent crises affecting the economies and labour markets of these countries are related to macro-economic policy failure alone, or whether a more permanent collapse of tripartite coordination has taken place.
Radical change in the European woodworking industry: consequences for the workforce and their trade unions
Authors: Hochstadt Stefan
Published: January 2010

In the context of an examination of the employment situation in the European woodworking industry, the author argues the need for the trade unions to adopt a stronger European bias in the formulation of their policy demands. The structural difficulties affecting the woodworking industry are such that the volume of employment is not even going to stabilise in the long term, let alone improve. The new distribution of labour between western Europe and the production sites of central and eastern Europe places further new demands on the trade unions. This contribution argues the need for more effective coordination of the trade unions' policies on Europe. It is first of all necessary, to this end, that the trade unions surmount their internal difficulties at national level, for only then will stronger European commitment become a real possibility. In the past Europe has too often been regarded as an "add-on" construction rather than an integrative process. Accordingly, there is a need for serious efforts to bring into being a European collective bargaining policy, but few such efforts are in sight. Turning to consider developments at the level of the multinationals, the author points out that the activity of the European works councils must be fleshed out if workers are to be enabled to identify with these bodies. Finally, as a traditional sector located close to nature, the woodworking sector is eminently well-placed to embark upon a trade union "ecological offensive".
Towards a social reproduction model
Authors: Biffl Gudrun
Published: January 2010

Austria and Sweden are selected as countries of comparison for the impact of social choice models on the division of labour between the household and market sector and the skill structure of the labour force. These countries are chosen because they are of similar population size, they are both small open economies and have a corporate economic policy system with a strong social partnership. In spite of these similarities structural developments of labour supply and demand diverged markedly since the 60's, in particular as far as the incorporation of women into the labour market and the role of the public sector for the employment creation are concerned. In this paper it is argued that social choice models override economic policy orientations such that the outcomes of socio-economic processes end up at opposite ends of a continuum of production possibilities in the household and market sector. The Swedish social consensus is marked by equal opportunities and egalitarian principles while the Austrian popular vote hangs on to traditional patriarchal structures, which perpetuate the gendered division of the labour market and augment segmentation. Transfer of household production to the labour market today is hampered by the character of the remaining production in the household, in the main personal services. They have limited potential for productivity increases through economies of scale or technical advancement of production processes. Due to that prices for the services rendered on the market coincide more or less with wages, offering little room for wage rises in line with wages in the production of goods or production oriented services, which are financed out of productivity increases. As a result personal services tend to remain in the household sector (the case of Austria) unless the public sector takes over due to other than market oriented value and thus pricing systems.
Pay discrimination between men and women, "all things being unequal"
Authors: Silvera Rachel
Published: January 2010

The problem of pay differentials between men and women, which continues to exist in France, is still a subject for debate, in the light of foreign experience (Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the European Union). Indeed, traditional explanations are far from satisfactory. In other words, "all things being equal" (i.e. at a level of training, experience, occupational category, age, sector of activity deemed equivalent, etc.), women still earn 10 to 15% less than men in France (if one reckons that the overall differential is 20 to 30%). This situation can be explained by analysis of all the known and quantifiable variables, but also by others that are less mesurable. These have been classified in five categories, which come under different fields of analysis. From the sociological and cultural viewpoint, the question is that of the persistence of social prejudices; from the economic viewpoint, that of "structure and sector effects" ; the institutional variables (a more or less centralised method of determining pay, the existence of a minimum wage andlor "pressure" exerted by the trades unions); the more organisational variables, linked to systems of evaluation and classification of functions; lastly, corporate strategies and policies (in particular, individualisation of pay).
Women's interests in the workplace. Between delegation and self-representation
Authors: Cyba Eva , Papouschek Ulrike
Published: January 2010

In the vicious circle of under-representation of women in trade union structures - particularly in positions of influence - and of women's interests not being considered as a vital component of trade union politics, we see the development of a range of experience which has a huge influence on the articulation and mobilisation of interests, thereby effecting participation in collective promotion of interests. This article reconstructs the process of women articulation their workplace interests in order to illustrate the "inner" and "outer" obstacles regarding both the articulation of interests and these interests being acted upon. These obstacles stand in the way of problems being solved in a manner which would benefit women. An important consequence of this, viz. that this process is usually hampered right from the outset - before interests are even explicitly articulated - points to the necessity of creating new forms of trade union politics in the workplace. Such new forms should address women's current attempts to wield a greater influence, both individually and collectively, regarding their position in the workplace and, most importantly, should take into account their "central points of interest", such as working hours.