Why do Europe's unions find it difficult to organise in small firms?

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This article explores the barriers to union membership and organisation at workplace level in SMEs across Europe. It shows that the nature of social relations in SMEs makes the articulation of grievances a high risk strategy for workers and militates against the identification of collective interests as a basis for organisation. However, SMEs are dynamic organisations and organisational change can alter the conditions for representation. The article highlights the key importance of ‘pro-voice’ workers, with a collective frame of reference, for unionisation at workplace level. The general absence of such workers in SMEs compounds the problems faced by unions in addressing union renewal in the growth areas of the EU economy