Workers' attitudes in the Czech Republic: results of the IVVM (Institute for Public Opinion) survey two years on

Abstract

The article reports, analyses and comments upon the results of a public opinion poll commissioned by the CMKOS trade union confederation in September 1996 and designed to collect information about trade union membership as well as workers' political leanings and their views on a wide range of employment- and workplace-related matters including attitudes to their jobs, their supervisors and their employers and their perception of the usefulness of trade unions and collective bargaining. In analysing respondents' replies, the authors compare them with the findings of a similar survey conducted two years earlier, identifying trends and new developments characteristic of the course of transition in the Czech Republic, and drawing lessons for future trade union recruitment and policy strategies. The conclusion is reached, among others, that the relative stability observed in attitudes over the period represents a positive indicator of the establishment of democracy.