Labour and the Struggle over the Future European Model of Capitalism: British and Swedish Trade Unions and their Positions on EMU and European Co-operation

Abstract

Based on a critical International Political Economy (IPE) perspective including a strategicrelational approach to the state, this article analyses Swedish and British trade unions' position on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) andEuropean co-operation. Importantly, unions in both countries support EMU membership, but transnational British labour is much more in favour of co-operation at the regional level than Swedish transnational labour. While the latter still enjoys good access to policy-making within the Swedish form of state, the former is rather marginalised in Britain and looks to the European Union as an alternative arena for influence. It is further shown that on the one hand British unions continue to reject neo-liberalism. On the other, some transnational sector unions in Sweden have, however, started to accept core neo-liberal concepts.

Patterns of speech activity at ETUC Executive Committee meetings, 2005–2012

“…It may go without saying that they have a leading role at Executive Committee meetings and not least with respect to common activities such as demonstrations and European days of action. We should perhaps consider it more noteworthy that the Nordic unions have been quite active on some of the themes, in spite of their sceptical attitudes towards transnational union cooperation in Europe (Bieler, 2005(Bieler, , 2008Furåker and Lovén Seldén, 2013;Schulten, 2008: 434). This supports the assumption that a sceptical attitude requires a certain commitment to block undesirable initiatives.…”

“…Transnational trade unionism can take many different forms and undergo several stages of development (Bieler, 2005(Bieler, , 2008Gajewska, 2008;Kay, 2005;Müller et al, 2010). Thus, there are looser forms of cross-border trade union cooperation like bilateral or multilateral exchanges of information as well as tighter forms like the establishment of coordination mechanisms and staging of joint activities in networks with a limited mandate.…”

“…However, what is particularly interesting is that there are regime-related differences in attitudes towards trade union cooperation in Europe. Thus, unions in the North tend to be rather sceptical (to safeguard their own industrial relations regime), whereas those in the Centre-West and the South are clearly positive (Bieler, 2005(Bieler, , 2008Bengtsson, 2013a, 2013b;Furåker and Lovén Seldén, 2013;Glassner and Vandaele, 2012;Larsson, 2014;Lovén Seldén, 2014;Schulten, 2008: 434-435). In the West and the Centre-East, we also find more reluctant attitudes, but not entirely negative.…”

Fiscal politics in time: pathways to fiscal consolidation in Ireland, Greece, Britain, and Spain, 1980–2012

“…Ireland moved from the mid--1980s toward government--led coordination efforts, while Britain moved in the opposite direction toward a strategy of labour disorganization (Crouch, 2000, Traxler et al, 2001). Trade unions in Britain could exert only weak political influence, which left central government with a relatively free hand (Bieler, 2008). British governments did not need to rely on effective social interlocutors, which increased the autonomy of government in its strategic options.…”

Where is the study of work in critical IPE?

“…Cox notes for example, that David Harvey, James Mittelman, V. Spike Peterson, William Robinson, Mark Rupert, and J. Ann Tickner present critical views to American imperialism, dominant masculinities, and critique the idea of an inherent straightjacket associated with globalisation. Phil Cerny's work is another body of work that cannot be placed in either school, but has been a crucial contributor to the development of critical IPE (1999aIPE ( , 1999bIPE ( , 2005 ii Paul C. Lewis (2009), Louise Amoore (2002, Robert O'Brien (2000a, 200b), Matt Davies and Magnus Ryner (2007), Phil Cerny (1999), Andreas Bieler (2008), Nicola Phillips (2009) andJeffrey Harrod (1987) have carried out research that is committed to critical analyses within IPE, looking at flexible labour markets, work, unions, migration, production, and poverty.…”