This article analyses the micro‐level rule enactment of the posting of workers framework in the German construction sector. I examine how actors draw on different power resources in order to influence policies without formal negotiation within transnational workspaces and thereby initiate institutional change. Drawing on interviews with posted workers, managers, unionists, works councillors and labour inspectors I show how transnational subcontracting allows the emergence of different regulatory spaces at national and workplace level. The article concludes that the informal renegotiation of employment relations in transnational workspaces is likely to destabilize the posting framework negotiated at policy level.
European integration through mutual recognition has facilitated the growth of a pan-European labour supply system in which transnational subcontractors 'post' workers from low-wage areas to higher wage areas. This allows employers to create spaces of exception in which the national industrial relations system of the country where work occurs does not fully apply. Drawing on interviews with managers, workers, unionists and works councillors at the European Central Bank construction site in Frankfurt, Germany, this article shows how transnational subcontracting allows employers to access, and create competition between, sovereign regulatory regimes. It concludes that high-cost, high-collective good national systems such as the German one, which depend on territorial boundedness for their integrity, are likely to be destabilized by this aspect of European integration.
Germany and Denmark are among the world’s largest exporters of meat products. Two decades ago their labour markets were similar, but since then they have diverged significantly. The industry in Denmark has maintained high wages and good working conditions, while in Germany there has been a rapid growth in precarious employment, with widespread use of subcontracted and posted migrant workers. We argue that the key explanation for this radical difference is the power position of the trade unions, which also affects how employers position themselves. We show how trade union power embedded in the local and sectoral industrial relations systems influences the wages and working conditions in German and Danish slaughterhouses.
Fra-2 (Fos-related antigen 2) is a member of the Fos family of AP-1 transcription factors which is often up-regulated in mammary carcinomas. Previous results suggested that it might be involved in the regulation of breast cancer invasion and metastasis. In order to analyze the role of Fra-2 in breast cancer cells, it was silenced in the highly invasive MDA-MB231 cells using RNA interference. On the other hand, stable transfectants of the weakly invasive MCF7 cell line were established in order to analyze the effects of Fra-2 overexpression. In both approaches, cell proliferation was not or only weakly influenced by Fra-2. In contrast, the invasive potential of the cells was increased, and a weaker effect on motility was observed. By cDNA microarray analysis of the MCF7 transfectants followed by validation on a protein level, we identified several Fra-2 target genes which might be involved in cell invasion and migration, i.e., ALCAM and connexin 43. Additionally, mRNA expression levels of various genes which are associated with a more malignant behavior of the tumors in vivo were up- or downregulated, i.e., members of the MAGE family, S100P, TIMP2, IL24 etc. These results show that Fra-2 overexpression is associated with a more aggressive tumor phenotype and is probably involved in breast cancer progression in vivo.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.