Trade unions and austerity in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Austerity measures in the wake of the recent world financial crisis often translated into large cuts in public employment and spending, and tax increases. Trade unions throughout Central and Eastern Europe had a disillusioning record of protecting their members against the previous wave of market-making reforms that swept through the entire region in the 1990s. Would unions perform better this time? As the article shows, in three of the four countries discussed below (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania) trade unions were able to launch protests and nationwide strikes, arguably a sign of their growing capacity to mobilize discontent and of their willingness to risk their relationship with the government.