Central and Eastern European trade unions after the EU enlargement: successes and failures for capacity building

This article presents recent responses on the part of Central and Eastern European (CEE) trade unions to economic and social challenges in the post-enlargement period. Shifting the focus away from structural union weakness, the article looks at trade union potential for action, organizational capaci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transfer (Brussels, Belgium) Belgium), 2015-08, Vol.21 (3), p.343-357
Main Author: Kahancová, Marta
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:This article presents recent responses on the part of Central and Eastern European (CEE) trade unions to economic and social challenges in the post-enlargement period. Shifting the focus away from structural union weakness, the article looks at trade union potential for action, organizational capacity, resource building and policy influence. Despite their structural weaknesses, CEE unions demonstrate capacities that might enable them actively to shape working conditions and their internal resources are not completely depleted. However, the character of these resources and the kinds of union action have been changing. Traditional resources based on membership and involvement in collective bargaining have lost prominence in favour of unions’ increased focus on mobilization, public protests and political support.
ISSN:1024-2589
1996-7284
DOI:10.1177/1024258915585946