Trade union strategies in the age of austerity: The Romanian public sector in comparative perspective

This article examines the impact of the economic crisis and its aftermath on collective bargaining, by comparing reactions to austerity policies of trade unions in healthcare and education in Romania. We develop an encompassing theoretical framework that links strategies used by trade unions with po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of industrial relations 2019-06, Vol.25 (2), p.113-128
Main Authors: Adăscăliței, Dragoș, Muntean, Aurelian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aftermath
Alliances
Austerity policy
Collective bargaining
Democracy
Economic crisis
Emigration
Energy resources
Health care
Health services
Interest groups
Labor market
Labor unions
Militancy
Public sector
Strikes
Trade
Work environment
Working conditions
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Summary:This article examines the impact of the economic crisis and its aftermath on collective bargaining, by comparing reactions to austerity policies of trade unions in healthcare and education in Romania. We develop an encompassing theoretical framework that links strategies used by trade unions with power resources, costs and union democracy. In a tight labour market generated by the massive emigration of doctors, unions in healthcare have successfully deployed their resources to advance their interests and obtain significant wage increases and better working conditions. We also show that in the aftermath of the crisis, healthcare trade unions have redefined their strategies and adopted a more militant stance based on a combination of local strikes, strike threats and temporary alliances with various stakeholders. By comparison, we find that unions in the education sector have adopted less effective strategies built around negotiations with governments combined with national-level militancy.
ISSN:0959-6801
1461-7129
DOI:10.1177/0959680118783588