The battle over flexibilization in post-communist transitions: Labor politics in Poland and the Czech Republic, 1989–2010

Abstract

In post-communist transitions, given the steepness of union decline and the inheritance of rigid communist-era Labor Codes, a convenient way to compare the relative efficacy of organized labor is to assess its ability to contain the push for ‘flexibilization’ in the revision of labor regulations. This article compares Poland and the Czech Republic (1989–2010), where important differences emerged in revised Labor Codes in such areas as dismissals, fixed-term contracts, collective bargaining, and union rights. In all these aspects, Czech labor did significantly better in resisting flexibilization. The explanation rests on the evolution of a legacy union in the Czech Republic that was able to concentrate labor’s resources and coordinate with an electorally viable set of left parties to secure their backing for labor’s agenda. This was not possible in Poland given the deep divisions within organized labor and the shifting fortunes of left parties in a more volatile party system. The cohesiveness of labor and the viability of left parties do not explain variation in labor power everywhere. They do, however, jointly constitute a portable mechanism that enhances the strength of organized labor in post-communist countries and possibly even in late-developing countries marked by market reforms and democratic contestation.