ABSTRACT
Acknowledging the diverse mechanisms of minimum wage setting in Central and Eastern European countries, this chapter explores and analyses minimum wage negotiations from an actor-oriented and industrial relations oriented perspective. It explains the relationship between two important phenomena - namely, steep rises of minimum wages, and a declining power of trade unions, bargaining decentralisation and a weakening policy influence of tripartite negotiations. To provide more in-depth evidence on the interplay of actors' bargaining strategies and the changing power relations between unions, employers and the government in the determination of minimum wages, the chapter examines the cases of Bulgaria and Slovakia. The case of Bulgaria illustrates a situation where social partners have sought a mechanism for minimum wage setting beyond the discretional decisions of the government. Since the early 1990s the minimum wage has reflected Slovakia's economic development and increased accordingly.
