Documents Myant, Martin 50 results

"The fact that multinational companies operate (MNCs) in more than one country can be expected to lead to a weaker bargaining position for labour. However, there are hopes that these companies may, under certain circumstances, transfer good employment practices from their home countries. This theory is investigated for the case of MNCs based in western Europe that invest in the countries of eastern and east-central Europe, where they dominate in several important economic sectors. The established legal and institutional frameworks in those countries give a degree of employment protection, but it is limited. Union recognition by MNCs is quite common, but collective bargaining often provides little beyond existing legal provisions. A series of case studies shows how unions can try to, and sometimes succeed in, getting better results from bargaining. The key conclusion is that international solidarity, contacts and publicity can help unions in host countries, but the ultimate determinant is the determination and organisational strength of employees."

"This book looks at the effects of changes in employment regulation on levels and forms of employment in ten EU countries (Spain, Italy, Estonia, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, France, Denmark, and the UK). It demonstrates that reducing employment protection has brought neither labour market nor economic benefits. Moreover, post-crisis changes were accompanied by increases in precarious employment in those countries that were most enthusiastic in their deregulatory efforts."

"This paper provides a critical assessment of the OECD's Employment Protection Legislation (EPL). This indicator is designed to measure and compare employment protection legislation across countries and has dominated much of recent labour market policy making in the EU.



The authors of this paper demonstrate that the construction of this instrument involves simplifications, estimations and omissions that make it highly suspect as an indicator of employees' protection. Empirical tests do not confirm the predicted negative effects of laws to protect employment. EU policy documents tacitly acknowledged this, but continue to give policy recommendations based on unproven claims.



The paper also asks whether this instrument can be improved or should be abolished and what could be more useful alternatives."

"This working paper discusses the use of unit labour costs (ULC) by the European Commission as a measure of competitiveness of exports, especially in central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It shows the flawed nature of the European Commission's argument that increasing wages ahead of measured productivity would necessarily represent a threat to export competitiveness. In fact, past history has shown rising unit labour costs and rising relative wages have frequently accompanied increasing exports. It demonstrates that the recorded measure of productivity appears to be low in countries with lower wage levels precisely because wages are low, even when the work performed is often very similar, or identical, to much better-paid work in higher income countries. The conclusion is that there is scope for significant wage increases without harming export competitiveness. "