ABSTRACT
The second half of the last century saw a growth in public-sector union membership and in collective bargaining in many European countries. Among the main issues for the unions was to establish collective bargaining rights in a context where the state often determined working conditions unilaterally. This phenomenon is a relevant factor in the transformation of the European scenario of industrial relations. In the last five decades, in most European countries, unions organizing public employees have also played a significant role in defining strategies in national industrial relations and have increased their membership as a countertendency to the decline of union membership in industry.
