The Changing Role of the State in Industrial Relations in Western Europe

Abstract

The central purpose of this paper is to account for and interpret the major changes which have been taking place in relations between the state, trade unions and (to a lesser extent) employers during the period and in the countries covered by this study. The first step will be briefly to establish a simple conceptual framework which will assist this task of analysis. Next, since the immediate post-war period was an important formative one for industrial relations institutions its main features and subsequent changes will be sketched on a country-by-country basis. Against that background it will then be possible to examine the direction of changes which have taken place in each country since the late 1960s. Finally an attempt will be made to reach some general conclusions.