Research Project

Towards Transnational Trade Union Representation? National Trade Unions and European Integration

Supported by the VW-Foundation, the Institute for Social Movements is carrying out an international project dealing with transnational trade union representation in the context of European integration. The working language will be English.
In consideration of an increasing importance of the European Union in general, and of substantial changes of European decision-making in particular, the project aims at contributions to the question, to what degree the integration process has affected trade unions of the member states, both in Western and Eastern Europe. It is apparent that the amendments to the European treaties, and especially the Common Market and the Economic and Monetary Union, have brought about a new quality of economic integration that faces trade unions with substantial changes of industrial relations and labour representation in Europe. It seems that there is much too little knowledge of the challenges being brought about, and that trade unions have reacted to such challenges only to a limited degree. Thus it follows that the project should pursue two major research targets: On the one hand, a systematic comparison of trade union politics in all EU-related states including the new member states during the more recent decades; on the other hand, a study of national trade union reactions and adaptations to the challenge of European integration, which is common to all EU member states. In addition to the comparative dimension of this project the German perspective has been analysed in-depth from an historical point of view. These studies have recently been published in Volume 42 of the Mitteilungsblatt des Instituts für soziale Bewegungen.

For further information please contact:
Dr. Jürgen Mittag