ABSTRACT
The food manufacturing industry,1 while perhaps not so visible in economic terms as some other branches of manufacturing activity, is one of the most important in the European Union. In terms of value added, the industry ‘attains figures approximately equal to those of the transport and chemical industries, which in modern economies are expressions of the degree of development achieved’ (European Commission 1996:13-1). The industry generates around 5 per cent of EU turnover, nearly 4 per cent of total employment, and thus represents one of the major market forces in the EU. Despite this importance to the EU economy, and the dramatic changes which have taken place within it in recent years, the sector has been relatively invisible to academic enquiry, particularly in terms of its industrial relations patterns. Thus, in comparison with other sectors which we have studied, there is relatively little established research literature upon which to draw.
