ABSTRACT
This introduction 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 following chapters take as their subject the changes within each of these countries. Under the former political regimes, the common features of state ownership of enterprises, party political control and central planning shaped the general character of labour relations models, but with the transition to market economies and political pluralism there are a number of concomitant changes in labour relations which are occurring at both the national and enterprise levels. We begin with an overview of the theoretical and empirical issues associated with the comparative study of labour relations in contemporary eastern Europe. We then proceed to consider the key themes that constitute the bases for analyzing changes in labour relations in the different chapters. The discussion also attempts to identify emerging similarities and differences in trends within the different countries. It argues that in the transition to various forms of market economy, labour relations models in each of the countries will be characterized by contrasting features, linked as they are to prevailing economic and political conditions.
