Abstract
This article introduces the Special Issue on industrial relations in Central and Eastern Europe since the financial and economic crisis. Already dependent economically on funding from the west and lacking the robust industrial relations institutions traditional in much of Western Europe, countries in the region were particularly vulnerable. However, there are important cross-national differences, and the strategies of key actors have significantly affected the outcomes.
Highlights
The collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989 was followed by the rapid incorporation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the market economy of the West, and more gradually in the institutional framework of the EU
As Epstein and Johnson (2010: 1257) note, EU accession requirements which opened their markets to foreign investment, and actual or anticipated eurozone area entry made the new member states extremely vulnerable to the international financial crisis of 2008; yet the crisis itself initially made these countries more eager to adopt the euro
More practical measures have been taken to rekindle trade union activism, notably through the utilization of social media for communication purposes and through offering voice to marginalized and precarious groups as well as those operating in the shadow economy
Summary
The collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989 was followed by the rapid incorporation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the market economy of the West, and more gradually in the institutional framework of the EU. Trade unions are marginalized and collective bargaining arrangements weak and fragmented Given their openness to western financial markets, they have been vulnerable to the economic crisis and subject to severe austerity measures. Bulgaria and Romania approximate to the neoliberal model, being heavily financialized, engaging in lower-range production and offering minimal social protection In this region the consultative rights accorded to trade unions have been well established and collective bargaining coverage relatively high. Bohle and Greskovits describe countries in this region as ‘embedded neoliberal’ regimes In this cluster, organized labour has largely been excluded from institutional policy-making (Bernaciak, 2015), trade union density is generally low and collective bargaining weak and fragmented, occurring mainly at company level. More practical measures have been taken to rekindle trade union activism, notably through the utilization of social media for communication purposes and through offering voice to marginalized and precarious groups as well as those operating in the shadow economy
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