ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comparative framework for the discussion of transitions in labour relations in a number of selected countries in the former Eastern Europe; Bulgaria, the Czech and Slovak republics, Hungary, Poland and Russia. The complexity of the task of attempting to create democratic political institutions while transforming the nature of property relations dramatically is without precedent in recent world history. The development of new patterns of labour relations is highly dependent upon the prevailing economic conditions, which in turn are conditioned by political processes. The general elements of the model of labour relations under the previous political regimes are well known. The constraints on enterprise autonomy within the planned economy meant that the scope for enterprise strategy was limited that is, the choice of markets, the design of enterprise structures and the nature of labour relations. Trade unionism has a number of features in relation to the transitional models of labour relations.
