"Relations between employers, trade unions, and employees in Europe are rapidly changing. New competitive demands for organizations, the globalization process and economic turbulence, new technologies and growing diversity in work forces are leading to new organizational conflicts in which Employee Representatives (ERs) play a central role. ERs are confronted with new challenges. The European Commission and the Spanish Government value innovative social dialogue and the role of the ERs, therefore stimulated this project to empower ERs in Europe.

How should the ERs be empowered to negotiate flexible, fair and innovative labour relations? This was the central question addressed in the study carried out by the `New European Industrial Relations¿ (NEIRE) network, in which researchers from eight European countries conducted three different field studies (questionnaires, interviews and panels) with ERs and other field expert. The participant countries represent different industrial relations traditions in Europe. These countries are: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom."

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