Documents Kohl, Heribert 20 results

"The enlargement of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe after 2004 was accompanied by great optimism: more dynamic economic development was expected in the wider Europe and also a general further development of social standards. The banking and debt crisis that started in 2008, however, has revealed structural shortcomings that disrupted and partly reversed the desired trends. The main reasons were inadequate governance options with regard to European economic and financial policy, together with substantial interference in the social dimension in the old and the new Member States. The impact of these processes in terms of convergence and divergence in the EU can be demonstrated on the basis of comparative empirical data series of core indicators in key areas for EU citizens. This impact has been exacerbated by inadequate state social protection and its funding by means of widely varying forms of taxation. A summary composite convergence/divergence index shows the current effects of crisis strategies in the EU regions."

"A comparison of structural developments in labour relations in the eight CEE candidate countries at company, sectoral and national levels in relation to the European social model shows that despite a transformation geared towards western European models, labour relations in CEE countries are developing along nationally characteristic lines and are showing considerable variations. Significant features which they do have in common, except for Slovenia, are the overall weak and fragmented structures at company level, with the widespread absence of a sectoral level of action and organisation and a pronounced emphasis on the state, which also characterises tripartism at national level. Compared to the current EU Member States, these countries have their own evolutionary 'transitional-society' type of labour relations, which will considerably increase the diversity of structures and policies in the enlarged EU and will thus present considerable challenges for future transnational labour relations. "

"The article starts by emphasising the differences between the Central and East European countries in terms of their labour relations traditions, providing a brief characterisation for four CEECs, with Slovenia identified as the country in which the participatory tradition is strongest. Subsequent sections identify similarities and differences in terms of collective labour law and labour relations at enterprise and supra-enterprise level. At enterprise level the article provides examples of co-operative relations between trade unions and works councils (Slovenia), a dual system of interest representation imposed by government without trade union support (Hungary), political duplication of representation structures (Poland), and the tendency to retain former representation structures (Czech Republic). Similar differences emerge with respect to tripartism, which remains underdeveloped in all countries, again with the exception of Slovenia. The relative weakness of the social partners, and in particular their fragmentation, are shown to be a problem for the candidate countries on their path towards EU accession. Here the European social partners, in particular the ETUC and UNICE, and also European works councils in firms with subsidiaries in eastern Europe should do more to promote social dialogue in the CEECs."

"Nach der Osterweiterung der Europäischen Union zeigt sich ein deutlich verändertes Profil der Arbeitsbeziehungen in der EU-25. In den meisten der neu hinzu gekommenen Mitgliedsländer Mittel- und Osteuropas (MOE) sind die industriellen Beziehungen deutlich weniger koordiniert und institutionalisiert als in einer Reihe kontinental- und vor allem nordeuropäischer Länder der früheren EU-15. Der Beitrag zeichnet eine europäische Landkarte der industriellen Beziehungen anhand der wichtigsten Indikatoren für die Organisiertheit der Akteure und Prozesse. Eine Synopse der unterschiedlichen nationalen Arbeitsstandards durch den Labour Rights Standards Index (LRS) zeigt markante Länderunterschiede, die sich für die meisten MOE-Länder insbesondere aus der Fragmentierung und Schwäche der Organisationen der Interessenvertretung, der geringeren Tarifbindung, der Betriebszentrierung der Tarifpolitik sowie einer defizitären Streikpraxis ergeben. Im europäischen Gefüge der industriellen Beziehungen gibt es also eine deutliche Gewichtsverlagerung zugunsten eines eher "angelsächsischen" Typus. Daraus resultiert vielfach die Befürchtung einer verschärften Standort- und Regimekonkurrenz, durch die die Arbeitsbeziehungen und -standards in Ländern wie Deutschland zusätzlich unter Druck geraten. Die Analyse macht darauf aufmerksam, dass die Entwicklung des europäischen Binnenmarktes einer stärkeren Flankierung durch die weitere Ausgestaltung der sozialen Dimension bedarf."

"Governments in Central and Eastern Europe are dominant players in the field of industrial relations, acting in a ‘liberalisation dilemma' between the needs of further state regulation to compensate the shortcomings of autonomous self-regulation by social actors and the demands of liberalised markets in the enlarged EU. Compared with the different types of industrial relation systems in Western Europe, a transitional model with specific etatist features has emerged. This becomes particularly evident when analysing the decision-making process in Tripartite Councils and its function in determining national minimum wages. The article underlines the recent trends of differentiation and convergence of such pay principles as well as urgent tasks of the state to regulate the unsolved problems of poverty, labour markets and labour standards."