Labour market governance in Eastern Europe

This article provides an overview of recent changes in the former Soviet Union and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. State regulation has been reduced, both through privatization and through the relaxation of statutory prescriptions, though new 'framework' legislation has been implemented. The former commitment to full employment has been abandoned and unemployment has risen, often dramatically. Trade unions - often the 'reformed' successors of the old official institutions - often retain significant nominal representative status, but have little effective regulatory power. Though most countries have introduced peak-level tripartite machinery, real decision-making takes place at company level where management is in the driving seat.