Trade unions and the amendment of the labour code in Romania

Employment relations, as well as issues of social and labour-market reforms or the social dialogue, have been extensively treated by various researches interested in the East and Central European region. In this context, much attention has been paid to the changing roles of trade unions, the problem of re-making ancient structures perverted by their more or less collaboration with the Communist parties from the region and the emergence of new structures in search for legitimisation, the difficulties of trade unionism in articulating and representing interests, an aspect that is directly related to their organisational problems, the relations with the governmental authorities and with the employers' organisations in the tripartite framework, as well as the nature of the tripartism in reuniting social partners and state. This article focuses on national organised labour in Romania in relation to the 2005 Labour Code amendment. This specific level of national interest representation is privileged in order to highlight the peculiarities of recognised representative labour organisations in the post-Communist period. The main assumption is that trade unions are facing a particular policy interest with a shift from fragmentation and unstable co-operation to a ‘common position’. Thus this contribution assesses the determinants defining labour's collaboration while shedding light on state – trade union relations. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.SCOPUS: ar.j