Suchergebnisse

El artículo examina la dimensión europea de relaciones laborales. Se reconstruye el proceso político iniciado en la década de los 1950 por las autoridades públicas comunitarias y las organizaciones representativas del empresariado y del trabajo, que ha dado lugar al actual entramado institucional de las relaciones laborales europeas. El artículo utiliza los principales enfoques teóricos de Economía Política sobre europeización con el objeto de revisar los efectos convergentes, de coordinación multi-nivel o disruptivos de las relaciones laborales europeas sobre los sistemas nacionales de relaciones laborales. Se describe la coherencia, funcionalidad e interconexión de las principales piezas institucionales de las relaciones laborales europeas: concertación tripartita; diálogo social interprofesional; diálogo social sectorial; y representación laboral en empresas de dimensión comunitaria. Las conclusiones del artículo sustancian que las relaciones laborales europeas constituyen un estrato de regulación incompleto, que ofrece resultados complejos de armonización de las condiciones de trabajo y empleo en Europa.

The article examines European industrial relations in their development over time since the first tripartite negotiations between the European public authorities and the representative trade unions and employers' organizations in the late 1950s. The focus lies strictly on the European layer of industrial relations. Our theoretical framework builds on the review of the main Political Economy approaches with regards to the Europeanization process. We explore the potential for convergence, multi-level harmonization or disruption of European industrial relations and their interdependence with and impact on national industrial relations systems. The article describes the main constituent parts of European industrial relations, which are deployed along four interlinked institutional dimensions: tripartite concertation; cross-industry social dialogue; sectoral social dialogue; and employee representation at community-scale firms. The findings substantiate that European industrial relations constitute an incomplete but perfectly traceable layer of multi-level regulation, with harmonization effects over time on labour and working conditions in Europe. ; El artículo examina la dimensión europea de relaciones laborales. Se reconstruye el proceso político iniciado en la década de los 1950 por las autoridades públicas comunitarias y las organizaciones representativas del empresariado y del trabajo, que ha dado lugar al actual entramado institucional de las relaciones laborales europeas. El artículo utiliza los principales enfoques teóricos de Economía Política sobre europeización con el objeto de revisar los efectos convergentes, de coordinación multi-nivel o disruptivos de las relaciones laborales europeas sobre los sistemas nacionales de relaciones laborales. Se describe la coherencia, funcionalidad e interconexión de las principales piezas institucionales de las relaciones laborales europeas: concertación tripartita; diálogo social interprofesional; diálogo social sectorial; y representación laboral en empresas de dimensión comunitaria. Las conclusiones del artículo sustancian que las relaciones laborales europeas constituyen un estrato de regulación incompleto, que ofrece resultados complejos de armonización de las condiciones de trabajo y empleo en Europa.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine European Union (EU) industrial relations in their development over time. It describes and analyzes their main constituent parts, which are deployed along four interlinked institutional dimensions: tripartite concertation; cross-industry social dialogue; sectoral social dialogue; and employee representation and negotiation at the transnational company level. The focus lies strictly on the emerging EU layer of industrial relations, which is common to the different Member States and not on comparative European industrial relations.


Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual in nature. It considers the differences and mutually interdependent legal and political processes, policies and institutions between EU industrial relations and national industrial relations.


Findings
The findings substantiate that EU industrial relations constitute an incomplete but perfectly traceable transnational reality distinct from industrial relations in the Member States. EU industrial relations are not to supersede but to supplement national industrial relations. Neither the EU institutional framework nor the European social partners have the mandate, legitimation or desire to perform a more ambitious role.


Research limitations/implications
More empirically oriented research would further support the findings in the paper.


Originality/value
The paper presents a conceptual review based on a comprehensive and critical reading of the literature on EU industrial relations. It also puts labor strategies at the forefront of the analysis in corporate relocation.

This paper identifies four roles of contemporary European Employers' Organisations. European Employers' Organisations are lobbyists in Brussels that represent the interests of their members, seeking to influence institutions. European Employers' Organisations are reluctant social partners that engage with labour unions, though mostly with the aim to avoid binding regulation. European Employers' Organisations are service providers, amongst others informing members about EU legislative and programmatic developments. Finally, European Employers' Organisations are standard setters in Europe, focussing on voluntary, flexible norms and codes of conduct.

This Handbook presents profiles of European Employers` Organisations (EEOs). The profiles provide general information on each organisation and detail how EEOs represent their member interests in the areas of employment relations, work, labour, and social policy in the European Union. This representation includes lobbying activities, joint work and relationships with labour unions and participation in EU institutions. This Handbook is aimed at practitioners and academics with an interest in the activities and impacts of EEOs, including unionists, employer representatives, policy makers and researchers of European employment relations and European Union integration.

This article discusses the potential of European transnational company agreements for developing industrial democracy at European company level. It describes the experience of the ArcelorMittal European Social Dialogue Group, established in 2009 through a European transnational company agreement as an innovative channel for trade union involvement in corporate decision-making. The conceptual framework draws on a cross-national comparison of industrial democracy discourses in two European countries, Germany and Spain. A qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with trade union representatives and management is used to identify divergent national discourses of employee voice giving rise to common misunderstandings of industrial democracy at European level. The findings illustrate the persisting communication challenges faced by trade unions when engaging in employee representation structures at transnational company level. The article also shows that trade union representatives are able to adapt their national discourses on industrial democracy under the influence of European practice.