Comparative Employment Relations in Europe

The current economic crisis, with diverging employment outcomes in different countries, has revealed the ongoing relevance of comparative industrial relations, but also the need for its renewal. The hitherto dominating approaches, based on institutions and national 'models', do not pay sufficient attentions to change and to international factors. This book fills the gap by tracing the patterns of change in industrial relations in the six largest EU countries during the last twenty years, under the pressure of three crucial international forces: multinational companies, labour migration, and EU policies. Written in an accessible language and enriched by empirical case studies, it is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and practitioners.