The Trade Union related Research Institutes (TURI) network aims at establishing a structural, non-thematic and long-term platform for formal contacts between the institutes supporting the trade union movement across Europe, thereby building the foundations for more and better collaboration and knowledge-sharing between them and integrating in a more natural way the European dimension in their research work. TURI should facilitate the emergence of common projects; it is a tool for mapping expertise and aims at helping trade union related institutes to engage in comparative research. TURI is a joint initiative of the ETUI and the Hans Böckler Foundation.

The implementation of the TURI project started in November 2007 and the network has been inaugurated by its initial members - 25 TURIs from 16 European countries - on their first meeting on 14 February 2008. The institutes are heterogeneous in terms of size, financing and areas of expertise, but they all confirm the need for trade union related research institutes to pool their knowledge and competences on a European level in order to match the needs of the trade unions today. Many of the socioeconomic questions dealt with on a national level are of relevance for all or most trade unions in Europe. The various processes on the European and global level need European and global responses, and this goes for the research as well. Hence, there seems to be a need for a more systematic and formal approach to cooperation between the TURIs in Europe. The TURI platform should not substitute existing thematic networks, but rather be a centre for the establishment of future thematic networks when needed.

List of TURI members

Full members:

Federal Chamber of Labour / Bundesarbeitskammer (AK), Austria

HIVA - Research Institute for Work and Society, Belgium

Institute for Social and Trade Union Research, Education and Training (ISTURET), Bulgaria

Institute for Social, Economic and Trade Union Research (ISETUR), Bulgaria

FAOS, Denmark

European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), EU

Observatoire social européen (OSE), EU

Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE, Finland

IRES, France

Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut (WSI), Germany

Koinoniko Polykentro - ADEDY, Greece

Labour Institute of the Greek General Confederation (INE/GSEE), Greece

Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI), Ireland

Cisl Study Center, Italy

Fondazione Tarantelli, Italy

EURISPES, Italy

Fondazione Di Vittorio (FDV), Italy

Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (LCSS), Lithuania

Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research, Norway

Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), Poland

Instituto Ruben Rolo, Portugal

PRÁXIS, Portugal

Fundacion 1° de Mayo, Spain

Fundación Francisco Largo Caballero, Spain

Arena Idé/Arenagruppen, Sweden

De Burcht, The Netherlands

Labour Research Department (LRD), UK

Associated members:

Centre Etudes & Prospective of Groupe ALPHA, France

Syndex, France 

KOPINT-Tárki Institute of Economic Research, Hungary

ISTEL, Italy

IRES Emilia Romagna, Italy

Arbeitsförderungsinstitut – Istituto Promozione Lavoratori (AFI-IPL), Italy

CES (Centre for social studies/ University of Coimbra), Portugal

Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), Slovakia

Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS), The Netherlands