Work

The European Minimum Wage Directive – and why it is a challenge to trade unions’ but not employers’ unity

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: The proposal of a European minimum wage directive by the European Commission was supposed to improve working conditions. This article asks why such an initiative created a challenge to the unity of unions, but not of employers’ associations at transnational level. The authors provide a network analysis of the communication structure of social partners. Applying Scharpf’s concepts of positive and negative integration and Hirschman’s typology of exit, voice and loyalty, the authors use qualitative methods to show how employers stayed loyal and united towards negative integration, while different voices arose within the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) leading to the temporary ‘exit’ of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation.

Source: Economic and Industrial Democracy

DOI: 10.1177/0143831x231161840

Authors: Irene Dingeldey, Ilana Nussbaum Bitran

Institution: University of Bremen

Language: English

Topic: Labor Movements and Unions

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,250