The “Europeanization” of Industrial Relations: Industrial Relations in a Global Context

The process of Europeanisation of industrial relations has emerged as a key trend in the European Union since the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht. Social dialogue has been fostered, new directives in the field of social policy have been issued, the sectoral social dialogue has been strengthened, and new governance methods are slowly emerging. Quality and benchmarking aspects have entered into the European discussion, first in the field of employment policy, then in working conditions issues. The present report seeks to evaluate the quality of European industrial relations in a global context based on the existing literature. The report identifies certain quality criteria for assessing the effectiveness of European industrial relations and engages in benchmarking the European industrial relation systems against those of Japan, the United States, Russia and the Candidate Countries. Specific issues dealt with are the quality of work, the changing role of industrial relations actors, and training and development. These factors have implications, not only for work organisation itself, but also for the quality of life in general. They also have implications for the welfare and global competitiveness of the Eurozone as a whole. This report proposes the application of a new method of governance, known as the ‘open method of coordination’ (OMC), to the field of industrial relations.