Transformation, EU Membership and Labour Relations in Central Eastern Europe: Poland — Czech Republic — Hungary — Slovenia

Abstract

The article starts by emphasising the differences between the Central and East European countries in terms of their labour relations traditions, providing a brief characterisation for four CEECs, with Slovenia identified as the country in which the participatory tradition is strongest. Subsequent sections identify similarities and differences in terms of collective labour law and labour relations at enterprise and supra-enterprise level. At enterprise level the article provides examples of co-operative relations between trade unions and works councils (Slovenia), a dual system of interest representation imposed by government without trade union support (Hungary), political duplication of representation structures (Poland), and the tendency to retain former representation structures (Czech Republic). Similar differences emerge with respect to tripartism, which remains underdeveloped in all countries, again with the exception of Slovenia. The relative weakness of the social partners, and in particular their fragmentation, are shown to be a problem for the candidate countries on their path towards EU accession. Here the European social partners, in particular the ETUC and UNICE, and also European works councils in firms with subsidiaries in eastern Europe should do more to promote social dialogue in the CEECs.