ABSTRACT
In Central and Eastern European countries, workers can influence the decision-making process in various ways: first in an indirect way, as members of trade union organizations; secondly, through works councils and other forms of participation in decision making; and thirdly, through their shares in the ownership of their enterprise, which gives them some power as shareholders. The reform process in Central and Eastern Europe has been accompanied by the widespread introduction of employee ownership. The chapter aims to highlight some of the challenges but also problems that trade unions meet in this area through the use of significant examples. It seeks to induce others to provide more evidence on this rather poorly researched area. The chapter identifies the necessary strategies that trade unions may elaborate in this area. It reviews restructuring and privatization in the early years of reform has clearly had tremendous effects on the trade union presence at enterprise level in the countries.
