Labour Relations in Central Europe The Impact of Multinationals' Money

Since 1990, foreign direct investment (FDI) has quickened economic modernization in Central Europe. State of the art management techniques and cutting edge technology have been introduced in many cases. Labour Relations is an essential factor in the organization of labour and production. At the start of the process industrial relations were characterized by the conditions existing under the previous planned economies or - as with "greenfield" investments - had to be entirely reconfigured. In the case of investments by West European companies, this book reveals various emerging models of industrial relations but also a clear tendency towards company centralization. For the time being the European Works Council still plays a subordinate role despite its potential fundamental role as mediator between East and West. Empirically nine corporations from the metal/automotive industry, the chemical, energy and food processing industries (with their subsidiaries in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia) are considered.

Contents: Study concept, hypotheses and approach; Analytical reference points; Investments by West European companies and industrial relations in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia as underlying conditions; The views of the actors on the supra-company levels: results of the expert interviews in the countries of origin and host countries of investment and on the EU level; The 9 West European multinationals: different patterns of the impact on the industrial relations in their CEE subsidiaries; Conclusions; References; Name index; Subject index.