Collective bargaining over labour conditions between unions and employers is a key labour market institution in democratic societies, guaranteed by international and national law. Its coverage, organization and impact have varied over time and across countries. Inclusive bargaining, conducted by...

Although coverage of collective bargaining agreements has been declining for decades in most countries, it is still extensive, especially in non-Anglo-Saxon countries. Strong unions may influence firms’ incentives to invest in capital, particularly in sectors where capital investments are sunk...

The article tries to answer an old question of economic theory and institutional economics: How do trade unions fit into a market economy? Are they a constitutive element of the market order or: are they a source of irritation and disruption?

This article investigates the transformations of the French unionism and of the French system of industrial relations over the last years and their probable future. It shows: an evolution from a militant unionism to a professionalized trade unionist system; the decline of collective actions; the...

The Greek industrial relations system for the past decades, mainly in the private sector, has been based on Law 1876 of 1990, which introduced free collective bargaining and independent dispute resolution. Due to the financial crisis, new legislation modified the existing legal framework and led...

This paper addresses the design of the machinery of collective bargaining from the perspective of microeconomic and macroeconomic flexibility. In the former context, somewhat greater attention is given over to enterprise flexibility than external adjustment. In the latter context, close...

Der Beitrag skizziert die Entwicklung der Arbeitsbeziehungen in Deutschland seit dem erstmaligen Erscheinen der Zeitschrift „Industrielle Beziehungen“ aus arbeitsrechtlichem Blickwinkel. Dabei zeigt sich, dass es im Koalitionsrecht, im Tarifvertragsrecht, im Arbeitskampfrecht und im...

Seit Januar 2015 gilt in Deutschland ein gesetzlicher Mindestlohn von 8,50 € pro Stunde. Die Mindestlohneinführung ist Teil eines Gesetzes zur Stärkung der Tarifautonomie, das darauf abzielt, die Tarifbindung wieder zu erhöhen und Allgemeinverbindlicherklärungen zu erleichtern. In diesem...