Condemned to be left behind? Can Central and Eastern Europe emerge from its low-wage model?

Are foreign multinational companies more or less likely than domestically-owned firms to recognise trade unions and engage seriously in collective bargaining? On the face of it, a multinational company is in a stronger position relative to employees as it can play off one group against another. On the other hand, big multinationals often recognise... Find out more

This working paper presents the results of the ETUI Internet and Platform Work Survey conducted in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia in 2018-2019. The objective is to map the extent of digital labour in central and eastern Europe (CEE) based on the analysis of two types of online sources for generating income: internet work; and its... Find out more

This new working paper explores why there is a persistent wage gap between western Europe and the new EU Member States of eastern and central Europe. Why is it still the case that after 27 years of transition from state socialism and 14 years of EU membership the closing of the gap in living standards between western Europe and eastern and central... Find out more

SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe SEER, Volume 20 (2017), Issue 2, ISSN: 1435-2869, ISSN online: 1435-2869, https://doi.org/10.5771/1435-2869-2017-2 Browse Volumes and Issues: SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe Find out more

This book provides a detailed account of the innovative practices pursued by trade unions in Central and Eastern Europe since 2008. The book covers eleven post-socialist states that joined the EU in 2004, 2007 and 2013: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. It looks at these... Find out more

This working paper looks at wage developments in central and eastern Europe (CEE) over the past twenty years and shows that wages are not only low compared to western Europe but, as demonstrated by a number of variables, also tend to be lower than what the economic potential of these countries would allow for. It demonstrates that from the mid-90s... Find out more

This working paper gives an overview of minimum wage policies in Central and Eastern Europe. It shows that minimum wages are an effective tool for reducing inequality by raising the lowest incomes. Minimum wages can have some, albeit limited, role in increasing aggregate productivity and promoting economic upgrading. However, to be truly effective... Find out more

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... Find out more

Over a quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 10 years after their accession to the European Union (EU), Central and Eastern Europe Countries (CEECs) still show marked differences with the rest of Europe in the fields of labour, work and industrial relations. This book presents a detailed and original analysis of labour and... Find out more

Transfer stimulates dialogue between the European trade union movement and the academic and research community. It contributes research findings on issues of strategic relevance for trade unions, in particular with regard to developments at the European level. Transfer publishes original peer-reviewed research on issues such as new developments in... Find out more

SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe SEER, Volume 13 (2010), Issue 4, ISSN: 1435-2869, ISSN online: 1435-2869, https://doi.org/10.5771/1435-2869-2010-4 Browse Volumes and Issues: SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe Find out more

This book edited by Christina Klenner and Simone Leiber and first published in German, focuses on developments in the welfare states of the ten Central and Eastern European EU member states in the transformation process some 20 years after the end of state socialism. It also explores the shifts in gender relationships and inequalities, and tries to... Find out more

Transition Economies provides students with an up-to-date and highly comprehensive analysis of the economic transformation in former communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. With coverage extending from the end of central planning to the capitalist varieties of the present, this text provides a... Find out more

In this, the fourth ETUI Policy Brief in 2009, the impact of the economic and financial crisis on Central and Eastern Europe is examined. Five years after EU enlargement, the new member states have been hit hard, contrary to initial hopes that their previous strong growth would make them immune. Bela Galgoczi, Senior researcher at the ETUI, shows... Find out more

This book examines the transformation of the state in Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism and adoption of market oriented reform in the early 1990s, exploring the impact of globalization and economic liberalization on the region’s states, societies and political economy. It compares the different policies and national strategies... Find out more

In this paper the extent to which the EU is actively disseminating a social model is considered, through the lens of EU enlargement and accession. To what extent or in what ways has enlargement served as a vehicle for the spreading of EU social standards? The paper examines the social effects of the transposition and implementation of the acquis... Find out more