Die Antwort der rumänischen Gewerkschaften auf die Krise 2008

This paper examines why, after the 2008 crisis and the draconian measures taken by the government, the Romanian trade unions were so powerless. It focuses on the interplay between internal (i.e. institutional) and external (i.e. economic and political) factors. It challenges the view that institutional legacies best explain the weakness of unions in Eastern Europe. Although issues within the unions themselves greatly reduced their capacity to mobilize and led to a shift from nationwide political strikes in the 1990s to economic strikes in the 2000s, this paper argues that external factors played a crucial role in strengthening the position of the Romanian conservative government and weakening the ability of trade unions to resist those changes. Examples are the European Commission’s endorsement of the undermining of trade unions‘ fundamental rights as a response to the 2008 crisis and its adverse reaction to reform proposals.