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Precarious work in the retail sector in Estonia, Poland and Slovenia: trade union responses in a time of economic crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Adam Mrozowicki

    (Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław)

  • Triin Roosalu

    (Institute of International and Social Studies, Tallinn University)

  • Tatiana Bajuk SenÄ ar

    (Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology)

Abstract

This article explores the different trade union responses to the growth of precarious work in the retail sector in Estonia, Poland and Slovenia in the context of the global economic crisis. The empirical research is based on interviews with trade union leaders and case studies of large multinational hypermarket chains. The analysis of sector-level union responses suggests the crisis has not deeply changed their path-dependent character. The most effective union tactics, involving political mobilization and sector-level collective bargaining aimed at halting the growth of precarious work, were observed in Slovenia’s neocorporatist system of industrial relations. By contrast, company-level collective bargaining and mobilization were more advanced in the two neoliberal systems, Estonia and Poland. In all three countries, the most important innovations were union-led campaigns aimed at increasing public awareness about precarious work.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Mrozowicki & Triin Roosalu & Tatiana Bajuk SenÄ ar, 2013. "Precarious work in the retail sector in Estonia, Poland and Slovenia: trade union responses in a time of economic crisis," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 19(2), pages 267-278, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:19:y:2013:i:2:p:267-278
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258913480601
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vera Glassner & Maarten Keune & Paul Marginson, 2011. "Collective bargaining in a time of crisis: developments in the private sector in Europe," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 17(3), pages 303-322, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Aurora Trif & Imre G Szabó, 2023. "Where to find power resources under a hostile government? The prospects for trade union revitalization after the loss of institutional resources in Hungary and Romania," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(1), pages 25-42, March.
    2. Johanna K Schenner & Paola Cavanna & Natalia Ollus, 2019. "Asylum-seekers and the ‘hyper-precarity trap’ in Austria, Finland and Italy," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 25(1), pages 81-99, February.
    3. Vera Glassner, 2013. "Central and eastern European industrial relations in the crisis: national divergence and path-dependent change," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 19(2), pages 155-169, May.
    4. Kairit Kall, 2024. "From a handful of activists towards an organising subculture: institutionalisation of transnational union organising in Central and Eastern Europe," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 30(1), pages 87-101, February.

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