Trade unions and the amendment of the labour code in Romania
Abstract Employment relations, as well as issues of social and labour-market reforms or the social dialogue, have been extensively treated by various researches interested in the East and Central European region. In this context, much attention has been paid to the changing roles of trade unions, the problem of re-making ancient structures perverted by their more or less collaboration with the Communist parties from the region and the emergence of new structures in search for legitimisation, the difficulties of trade unionism in articulating and representing interests, an aspect that is directly related to their organisational problems, the relations with the governmental authorities and with the employers' organisations in the tripartite framework, as well as the nature of the tripartism in reuniting social partners and state. This article focuses on national organised labour in Romania in relation to the 2005 Labour Code amendment. This specific level of national interest representation is privileged in order to highlight the peculiarities of recognised representative labour organisations in the post-Communist period. The main assumption is that trade unions are facing a particular policy interest with a shift from fragmentation and unstable co-operation to a ‘common position’. Thus this contribution assesses the determinants defining labour's collaboration while shedding light on state – trade union relations.
Transformation processes and trade union configurations in Poland and Hungary
The article examines the policies of transition conducted by governments and the evolution of the trade unions, comparing the risks of social conflict and opportunities for social consensus. In both respects, Poland and Hungary might, initially, have been regarded as located at opposite poles. In the meanwhile, however, the resources earmarked for the different transition policies have been largely expended, while the trade unions themselves have changed under pressure of privatisation and the recessionary effects of transition. Though the differences between them remain significant, trade unions in both countries face the same unresolved problem: how to gain a firm footing in the expanding private sector of the economy. Cet article analyse les politiques de transition menées par les gouvernements et l'évolution des syndicats en Pologne et en Hongrie. Il compare la situation face aux risques de conflits sociaux et possibilitiés de consensus social dans ces deux pays qui à première vue pourraient se situer à des pôles opposés. Au fil du temps, les ressources de base destinées aux différentes politiques de transition se sont largement épuisées, de même que, sous la pression de la privatisation et des effets de la récession, se sont modifiées les positions des syndicats eux-mêmes. Bien que les différences entre les syndicats des deux pays demeurent significatives, ils font face au même problème non encore résolu: comment s'implanter dans le secteur économique privé en extension. Der Beitrag befaßt sich mit der Transformationspolitik der Regierungen und der Entwicklung der Gewerkschaften unter dem vergleichenden Gesichtspunkt sozialer Konfliktpotentiale und Konsenschancen. Polen und Ungarn können in dieser Hinsicht ursprünglich als Gegenpole gelten. Inzwischen haben sich die anfänglichen Ressourcen für unterschiedliche Transformationspolitiken ebenso verbraucht wie sich die Gewerkschaften unter dem Druck von Transformationsrezession und Privatisierung verändert haben. Obwohl es nach wie vor bedeutende Unterschiede zwischen ihnen gibt, stehen sie in beiden Ländern vor dem ungelösten Problem, in der expandierenden Privatwirtschaft Fuß zu fassen.
Complexity, Network-Decisions And Alternative Risk Premia: Some New Theories Of Structural Change And Portfolio Decisions.
Structural Change is the basis for many decisions such as government fiscal and monetary policies, government interventions, corporate-expenditure decisions, corporate strategic decisions, portfolio management decisions in finance; household allocation decisions, etc.. Structural change in industries and national economies is increasingly more difficult to detect partly because of the growth and dominance of Complex Systems and “Networks” in modern industries and economies – such Networks and Complex Systems include GVCs (global value chains), retail store networks; franchising networks; internet networks; services networks; credit-chains in industries; online social networks; etc.. The relationship between Complexity and Structural Change is well established in the physics, applied math and economic dynamics literatures. Traditional definitions and modeling of structural change have erroneously focused on changes in labor, technological progress, market share, and or capital – which are grossly inadequate in the new economy and post- global financial crisis (as confirmed by changes in the global retailing and housing industries and other industries). Also the modeling of structural change seems to be constrained by the availability of data, and often omits the relationship between structural change on one hand, and globalization, financial stability and international financial contagion. This article: i) introduces the Operations Strategy Model of structural change, explains how it differs from the Lewis Model of Structural Change; and explains the often omitted relationship between operations strategy (of companies and government agencies) and structural change; ii) introduces other new Complexity-based models/theories of Structural Change in industries; iii) reviews the relationships among Operations Research, Complexity and Structural Change; iv) explains the symbiotic relationship between structural change on one hand, and economic growth, financial stability, financial contagion and globalization; v) discusses the significant gap between academic research and practice and explains some issues and factors that should be considered in the development and testing of structural change models; vi) explains how alternative risk premia can be generated from new models of Structural Change.