Conference paper presentations: The convergence of Industrial relations traditions in Greece and Ireland in the European crisis (2008-2016).
Barry P Colfer1, Christos Ioannou2
13th Conference of the European Sociological Association
(Un)Making Europe: Capitalism, Solidarities, Subjectivities
Athens, Greece, 29 Aug. - 01 Sept. 2017
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RN17_03a_H: The Role of Actors and Sectors
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Barry P Colfer1, Christos Ioannou2
1University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; 2The Office of the Greek Ombudsman, Athens, Greece.
This paper investigates crisis-induced changes to industrial relations practices in Europe with a focus on Greece and Ireland over the course of the economic and social crisis since 2008.
The theoretical and analytical framework of the paper and the justification of the selection of these case studies are informed by Visser (2008; 2012)’s comprehensive classification of European industrial relations traditions, which places Greece in the state-centred tradition, and Ireland in the liberal-pluralist group.
In the state-centred group, involvement of the social partners with the state is traditionally low, and collective bargaining is decentralized. Policies are designed without systematic input from the social partners, with actors subsequently accommodated via flexible implementation processes often based on derogation from the law. The liberal-pluralist group traditionally displays higher organisational density, high collective bargaining coverage at a very decentralised level, and limited interaction between social partners and state authorities. Greece and Ireland conform to some of these conditions, but not to all.
This paper contends that crisis-induced EU-backed structural reforms have brought about a convergence between the industrial relations traditions in these countries, where the Greek model is being recast to resemble the Irish one. The role of EU and national authorities in this convergence, and in the general reordering of European industrial relations through the introduction of new economic governance measures, is also analysed.
The paper finally reviews trade union responses to these changes, including through the formation of new coalitions, through changing relationships with political parties, and through involvement with EU-level actors including ETUC.
