Since the beginning of the transformation in Poland, trade unions have experienced nearly two decades of declining membership numbers and influence. This article shows that not only the restructuring of the economy but also the trade union policies and organizational forms themselves contributed...

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?

Hungarian trade unions face both the direct consequences of economic downturn and the political challenges that are implied by the deterioration in employees’ and unions’ bargaining positions with regard to employers. This article presents the political responses of both militant and...

Gewerkschaften werden oft von Liberalen und Libertären kritisiert. Dabei sind sie Ausdruck grundlegender Freiheitsrechte, insbesondere der Vereinigungsfreiheit. Auch das Streikrecht ist innerhalb gewisser Grenzen ein legitimes Freiheitsrecht. Eine freie Gesellschaft ist mehr als Marktwirtschaft...

Across Europe, there are many differing opinions on whether workplace employee representation should be encouraged or discouraged. Yet there is very little evidence on the variations in workplace employee representation across Europe or the reasons for this. We use a workplace survey covering 27...

In recent years, there has been a trend for trade unions to attempt to represent contingent workers, including agency staff, workers on fixed-term contracts and the self-employed. This article seeks to explain and characterize this development in the UK. The main conclusions are that contingent...

This paper investigates the determinants of industrial conflict in companies, using a multi-country workplace inquiry for 2009 and 2013 and various measures of strike activity. The principal goal is to address the effect of formal workplace representation on strikes, distinguishing in the first...

Using cross-country data, this paper investigates the relationship between workplace representation and strikes. Works councils are associated with reduced strike activity. However, where union members make up a majority of works councillors, such union-dominated councils experience greater...

The authors examine the feasibility of trade unionism for migrant care workers, based on a recent organizing drive in Israel. Distinguishing between trade unions and other civil society organizations, they re-examine the concept of workers' collective action, looking at what constitutes a trade...