Pub Date : 2024-02-14DOI: 10.1177/10242589241229184
Jan Czarzasty
This article looks at the evolution of industrial relations in Central and Eastern Europe after the so-called ‘eastern enlargement’ between 2004 and 2013. The main claim is that 20 years after EU accession the ‘European dream’ (embodied in the European Social Model) has not been fulfilled in the area of industrial relations. Furthermore, the main frame of reference (thus the goal to be reached) has become increasingly distorted over the years. The article investigates the dynamics of industrial relations in the ‘new’ Member States of Central and Eastern Europe in order to show that what had been expected to become a transition – that is, a move from one defined point to another – eventually turned into a transformation without convergence on a clear model and characterised by widespread weakness and fragmentation of industrial relations.
{"title":"20 years after. Changing perspectives on industrial relations in Central and Eastern Europe two decades after EU enlargement: from transition to transformation","authors":"Jan Czarzasty","doi":"10.1177/10242589241229184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241229184","url":null,"abstract":"This article looks at the evolution of industrial relations in Central and Eastern Europe after the so-called ‘eastern enlargement’ between 2004 and 2013. The main claim is that 20 years after EU accession the ‘European dream’ (embodied in the European Social Model) has not been fulfilled in the area of industrial relations. Furthermore, the main frame of reference (thus the goal to be reached) has become increasingly distorted over the years. The article investigates the dynamics of industrial relations in the ‘new’ Member States of Central and Eastern Europe in order to show that what had been expected to become a transition – that is, a move from one defined point to another – eventually turned into a transformation without convergence on a clear model and characterised by widespread weakness and fragmentation of industrial relations.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139837283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-14DOI: 10.1177/10242589241229070
Mehtap Akgüç, M. Kahancová, Jaan Masso
This article assesses perceptions among national and EU-level social partners of developments in social dialogue since the EU accession of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries 20 years ago. The analysis evaluates the processes, structures and outcomes of interactions between social partners from CEE countries and the EU level. Social partners from CEE countries see the benefits of interaction with and exposure to EU-level social dialogue. On the other hand, their underdeveloped national structures for tripartite dialogue and sectoral bargaining pose a substantial barrier to capacity building and to voicing their interests at the EU level, undermining their legitimacy in EU-level structures. Even 20 years after enlargement, there is a perceived duality and internal competition between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ social partners at the EU level, criticisms of the ability of EU-level social dialogue structures to deliver effective outcomes, and a diversity of actors’ preferences concerning binding and non-binding provisions.
{"title":"One-way street to the European Union? Between national and EU-level social dialogue 20 years after eastward EU enlargement","authors":"Mehtap Akgüç, M. Kahancová, Jaan Masso","doi":"10.1177/10242589241229070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241229070","url":null,"abstract":"This article assesses perceptions among national and EU-level social partners of developments in social dialogue since the EU accession of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries 20 years ago. The analysis evaluates the processes, structures and outcomes of interactions between social partners from CEE countries and the EU level. Social partners from CEE countries see the benefits of interaction with and exposure to EU-level social dialogue. On the other hand, their underdeveloped national structures for tripartite dialogue and sectoral bargaining pose a substantial barrier to capacity building and to voicing their interests at the EU level, undermining their legitimacy in EU-level structures. Even 20 years after enlargement, there is a perceived duality and internal competition between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ social partners at the EU level, criticisms of the ability of EU-level social dialogue structures to deliver effective outcomes, and a diversity of actors’ preferences concerning binding and non-binding provisions.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139838758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-14DOI: 10.1177/10242589241229070
Mehtap Akgüç, M. Kahancová, Jaan Masso
This article assesses perceptions among national and EU-level social partners of developments in social dialogue since the EU accession of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries 20 years ago. The analysis evaluates the processes, structures and outcomes of interactions between social partners from CEE countries and the EU level. Social partners from CEE countries see the benefits of interaction with and exposure to EU-level social dialogue. On the other hand, their underdeveloped national structures for tripartite dialogue and sectoral bargaining pose a substantial barrier to capacity building and to voicing their interests at the EU level, undermining their legitimacy in EU-level structures. Even 20 years after enlargement, there is a perceived duality and internal competition between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ social partners at the EU level, criticisms of the ability of EU-level social dialogue structures to deliver effective outcomes, and a diversity of actors’ preferences concerning binding and non-binding provisions.
{"title":"One-way street to the European Union? Between national and EU-level social dialogue 20 years after eastward EU enlargement","authors":"Mehtap Akgüç, M. Kahancová, Jaan Masso","doi":"10.1177/10242589241229070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241229070","url":null,"abstract":"This article assesses perceptions among national and EU-level social partners of developments in social dialogue since the EU accession of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries 20 years ago. The analysis evaluates the processes, structures and outcomes of interactions between social partners from CEE countries and the EU level. Social partners from CEE countries see the benefits of interaction with and exposure to EU-level social dialogue. On the other hand, their underdeveloped national structures for tripartite dialogue and sectoral bargaining pose a substantial barrier to capacity building and to voicing their interests at the EU level, undermining their legitimacy in EU-level structures. Even 20 years after enlargement, there is a perceived duality and internal competition between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ social partners at the EU level, criticisms of the ability of EU-level social dialogue structures to deliver effective outcomes, and a diversity of actors’ preferences concerning binding and non-binding provisions.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139779055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-07DOI: 10.1177/10242589241228199
Kristin Jesnes
App-based food delivery relies on business models centred on the use of self-employed persons, combined with algorithmic management. In Norway, however, delivery platforms initially adapted the more traditional model: couriers were given employment contracts, joined an established trade union and negotiated a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the market entry of companies reliant on the self-employed, which expanded during the pandemic, prompted strategic changes that reduced worker power. This article explores agency in app-based food delivery in Norway. The research questions are: How do different actors’ (platform companies, workers and unions) strategies affect working conditions and pay? How do these actors use power and power resources strategically? This article makes a dual contribution. First, it provides empirical insights by examining a notable case of collective organising and negotiation involving a traditional union in Norway. Second, it contributes to our theoretical understanding of how workers and companies change their strategies to navigate the power dynamics in this emerging field.
{"title":"Shifting gears: how platform companies maintain power in app-based food delivery in Norway","authors":"Kristin Jesnes","doi":"10.1177/10242589241228199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241228199","url":null,"abstract":"App-based food delivery relies on business models centred on the use of self-employed persons, combined with algorithmic management. In Norway, however, delivery platforms initially adapted the more traditional model: couriers were given employment contracts, joined an established trade union and negotiated a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the market entry of companies reliant on the self-employed, which expanded during the pandemic, prompted strategic changes that reduced worker power. This article explores agency in app-based food delivery in Norway. The research questions are: How do different actors’ (platform companies, workers and unions) strategies affect working conditions and pay? How do these actors use power and power resources strategically? This article makes a dual contribution. First, it provides empirical insights by examining a notable case of collective organising and negotiation involving a traditional union in Norway. Second, it contributes to our theoretical understanding of how workers and companies change their strategies to navigate the power dynamics in this emerging field.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139856254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-07DOI: 10.1177/10242589241228199
Kristin Jesnes
App-based food delivery relies on business models centred on the use of self-employed persons, combined with algorithmic management. In Norway, however, delivery platforms initially adapted the more traditional model: couriers were given employment contracts, joined an established trade union and negotiated a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the market entry of companies reliant on the self-employed, which expanded during the pandemic, prompted strategic changes that reduced worker power. This article explores agency in app-based food delivery in Norway. The research questions are: How do different actors’ (platform companies, workers and unions) strategies affect working conditions and pay? How do these actors use power and power resources strategically? This article makes a dual contribution. First, it provides empirical insights by examining a notable case of collective organising and negotiation involving a traditional union in Norway. Second, it contributes to our theoretical understanding of how workers and companies change their strategies to navigate the power dynamics in this emerging field.
{"title":"Shifting gears: how platform companies maintain power in app-based food delivery in Norway","authors":"Kristin Jesnes","doi":"10.1177/10242589241228199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241228199","url":null,"abstract":"App-based food delivery relies on business models centred on the use of self-employed persons, combined with algorithmic management. In Norway, however, delivery platforms initially adapted the more traditional model: couriers were given employment contracts, joined an established trade union and negotiated a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the market entry of companies reliant on the self-employed, which expanded during the pandemic, prompted strategic changes that reduced worker power. This article explores agency in app-based food delivery in Norway. The research questions are: How do different actors’ (platform companies, workers and unions) strategies affect working conditions and pay? How do these actors use power and power resources strategically? This article makes a dual contribution. First, it provides empirical insights by examining a notable case of collective organising and negotiation involving a traditional union in Norway. Second, it contributes to our theoretical understanding of how workers and companies change their strategies to navigate the power dynamics in this emerging field.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139796386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-03DOI: 10.1177/10242589241229015
Vincenzo Maccarrone
{"title":"Stand up for your rights! The United Auto Workers’ victory against the ‘big three’","authors":"Vincenzo Maccarrone","doi":"10.1177/10242589241229015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241229015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139808372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-03DOI: 10.1177/10242589241229015
Vincenzo Maccarrone
{"title":"Stand up for your rights! The United Auto Workers’ victory against the ‘big three’","authors":"Vincenzo Maccarrone","doi":"10.1177/10242589241229015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589241229015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139868104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-23DOI: 10.1177/10242589231221475
Andrea Bellini, Marco Betti, Alberto Gherardini, Francesco Lauria
This article presents the findings of a comparative research study across five European countries on the role of servicing in the process of trade union renewal. The main aim is to transcend the dichotomy between servicing and organising with a view to revealing new renewal strategies. The study explores diverse forms of servicing based on the integration of various types of goods provided and logics of action. Specifically, it focuses on ‘strategic’ servicing, an approach that combines short-term responses to individual needs and long-term goals of collectivisation. The article introduces the notion of ‘collectivising’ services, targeting fragmented groups of workers to nurture a sense of community and establish channels of representation. It also offers a fresh perspective on trade union renewal, shedding light on the potential for trade unions to gain a more profound understanding of their repertoires of action and the impact of servicing on the construction of a collective dimension.
{"title":"Collectivising services: a path to trade union renewal in Europe","authors":"Andrea Bellini, Marco Betti, Alberto Gherardini, Francesco Lauria","doi":"10.1177/10242589231221475","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589231221475","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents the findings of a comparative research study across five European countries on the role of servicing in the process of trade union renewal. The main aim is to transcend the dichotomy between servicing and organising with a view to revealing new renewal strategies. The study explores diverse forms of servicing based on the integration of various types of goods provided and logics of action. Specifically, it focuses on ‘strategic’ servicing, an approach that combines short-term responses to individual needs and long-term goals of collectivisation. The article introduces the notion of ‘collectivising’ services, targeting fragmented groups of workers to nurture a sense of community and establish channels of representation. It also offers a fresh perspective on trade union renewal, shedding light on the potential for trade unions to gain a more profound understanding of their repertoires of action and the impact of servicing on the construction of a collective dimension.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139604934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-30DOI: 10.1177/10242589231221518
Joachim Becker
Neo-nationalist parties emerged victorious in Hungary and Poland after the financial crisis as a political consequence of disenchantment with the neoliberal approaches ushered in by EU accession and subordinate economic integration. This article analyses, in a comparative perspective, the strategies adopted by the governing neo-nationalist parties in Hungary and Poland with regard to trade unions and industrial relations as part of their broader political-economic projects.
{"title":"Governing neo-nationalism, trade unions and industrial relations: the cases of Hungary and Poland","authors":"Joachim Becker","doi":"10.1177/10242589231221518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589231221518","url":null,"abstract":"Neo-nationalist parties emerged victorious in Hungary and Poland after the financial crisis as a political consequence of disenchantment with the neoliberal approaches ushered in by EU accession and subordinate economic integration. This article analyses, in a comparative perspective, the strategies adopted by the governing neo-nationalist parties in Hungary and Poland with regard to trade unions and industrial relations as part of their broader political-economic projects.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139139776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-28DOI: 10.1177/10242589231219749
Kairit Kall
In this article the question of how transnational organising has become institutionalised in some trade unions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is examined by studying three prominent organising initiatives in the region. It is argued that international union networks, facilitated by European integration, and the meagre resources of unions in the region have affected the development of organising with a transnational dimension. Originally initiated by a few activists, by the early 2020s organising has shown some promising results and has become an accepted strategy for strengthening unions. But local unions still lack sufficient resources of their own to organise properly. This has encouraged the institutionalisation of transnational organising. Although this has provided CEE unions with more resources, it also gives rise to problems of its own, notably the need for CEE unions to adjust their operations in accordance with the funding process and funders’ preferences.
{"title":"From a handful of activists towards an organising subculture: institutionalisation of transnational union organising in Central and Eastern Europe","authors":"Kairit Kall","doi":"10.1177/10242589231219749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10242589231219749","url":null,"abstract":"In this article the question of how transnational organising has become institutionalised in some trade unions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is examined by studying three prominent organising initiatives in the region. It is argued that international union networks, facilitated by European integration, and the meagre resources of unions in the region have affected the development of organising with a transnational dimension. Originally initiated by a few activists, by the early 2020s organising has shown some promising results and has become an accepted strategy for strengthening unions. But local unions still lack sufficient resources of their own to organise properly. This has encouraged the institutionalisation of transnational organising. Although this has provided CEE unions with more resources, it also gives rise to problems of its own, notably the need for CEE unions to adjust their operations in accordance with the funding process and funders’ preferences.","PeriodicalId":23253,"journal":{"name":"Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139148420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}