1. The Race for the Pax Germanica: Spain versus Central & Eastern Europe
- Author:
- Hans Slomp
- Publication Date:
- 01-1993
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Most Central and Eastern European countries are experimenting with forms of tripartism, i.e., trade union/employer/government contacts at all-industry level. This form of bargaining and consultation is patterned after the tripartite councils in Northern Europe. Spain has also had a number of tripartite agreements in the early 1980s, and its transition toward democracy is sometimes compared to that in (Central and) Eastern Europe. In this paper, Spanish and Eastern European labor relations are compared on the basis of the basic features of Northern European labor relations, in which tripartism has a longer tradition: the nature of the labor movement, the pacification of the enterprise by a shift of conflict to the branch level, and the depoliticization of labor relations. Eastern Europe's trade union density and trade union structure seem to be better adapted to tripartism than the Spanish labor movement. The major hindrance to a system of branch bargaining is the absence of employers organizations. It could be overcome to some extent by regional collective bargaining, with the local government as an active participant.
- Topic:
- Industry, Trade Unions, Democratic Transitions, Labor Movement, and Tripartism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Spain, and Central Europe