Trade union strategies in the age of austerity : evidence from the Romanian public sector

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the economic crisis and its aftermath on collective bargaining by comparing reactions to austerity policies of trade unions in healthcare and education sectors in Romania. It develops an encompassing theoretical framework that links strategies used by trade unions with power resources, costs, and union democracy. We argue that trade unions in the healthcare sector have successfully deployed their resources to advance their interests and obtain significant wage increases and better working conditions. We show that in a context of a tight labour market, generated by the massive emigration of doctors, trade union confederations in the healthcare sector have been increasingly successful in negotiating better pay. We also show that in the aftermath of the crisis healthcare trade unions have redefined their strategies and adopted a more militant stance based on a combination of local strikes, strike threats, and forging temporary alliances with various stakeholders. By comparison, we find that trade unions in the education sector have adopted less effective strategies built around negotiations with governments combined with national level militancy.