The Significance of Trade Unions in the CEE Countries: Beyond Corporatism and Pluralism?

We start the chapter by comparing the relationship between trade unions and political parties in Central Eastern European and Western European Countries. We point to the fact that unions did not build the stable and long-term relationships with political parties as can be observed in the Western democracies. Through the combined analysis of the historical and symbolic background of the transition to a democratic civil society and free-market economy with the political preferences of the working class, trade union membership rates and public opinion polls we argue that the links between trade unions and political parties become even less stable with time. In particular, Polish trade unions never had a chance to become long-term intermediaries between society and political parties, making Poland an exception from the traditional models observed in other democracies. Almost the same is true for Lithuania. Despite the seemingly proactive and visible workings of many Lithuanian trade unions, they are still considered to be relatively weak and conformist. In Slovenia on the other hand trade unions, despite their declining membership, remain important and powerful actors in policy-making due to the neo-corporatist system. Consequently, we have to look into the replacement of traditional labour force representation in the democratic policy process.