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Institutions and Strategies: Trends and Obstacles to Recruiting Workers into Trade Unions in P oland
Author(s) -
Czarzasty Jan,
Gajewska Katarzyna,
Mrozowicki Adam
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
british journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.665
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-8543
pISSN - 0007-1080
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2012.00919.x
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , trade union , collective bargaining , economics , business , political science , international trade , market economy , geography , archaeology
In this article, we examine the role of institutional context, organizational structures and trade union strategies in tempering membership decline in the number of trade unions in P oland. Empirical data include membership statistics collected for NSZZ Solidarność and 54 affiliates of two other largest trade union confederations ( OPZZ and FZZ ) supplemented by semi‐structured interviews with union leaders. In a decentralized collective bargaining system in P oland, a centralized trade union confederation ( NSZZ Solidarność) can more easily shift resources to efficiently organize workers than decentralized confederations, OPZZ and FZZ , whose development is mostly driven by competing trade unions representing narrower occupational groups. In conclusion, this observation is put in a broader context of the debates about trade union renewal in E astern E urope.