Industrial relations in the EU Member States and candidate countries

Since 1997, the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) has followed and analysed developments in industrial relations in the 15 EU Member States & Norway and at EU level. Coverage of the candidate countries started in 2002. This overview compares some key aspects of industrial relations systems in the 15 EU Member States and the 10 candidate countries for membership likely to be the first to join from 2004 onwards. It focuses on social partner organisations, collective bargaining and employee participation and also provides some basic comparisons between the current Member States and the candidate countries in terms of labour markets, pay, working time and employment/working conditions.