Clustering Labour Market Reforms in Nine EU Countries: Comparing Responses to the Economic Crisis.

This paper aims to shed light on the developments in several EU Member States –Spain, Ireland, Portugal, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Hungary and Poland- with regard to labour law reforms. It describes the structural reforms approved in the period 2008-2015. Besides, the paper provides an assessment on the effects in the labour market and industrial relations of the socio-economic adjustments undertaken in this period. This study follows a mixed-method approach by applying a juridical analytical framework combined with a qualitative analysis of information from semi/structured interviews with representatives of the social partners and policy makers. The main themes explored by the paper are: How has the social dimension in these countries been affected by the adjustments to the economic crisis? To what extent have policies been directed at the objectives of enhancing flexibility, employability, and reducing labour market segmentation?  How successful these policies have been in achieving the foreseen objectives and improving labour market efficiency? And finally, what effects have the reforms had on industrial relations at national level?  The paper includes a clustering of countries based on the socio-political factors triggering the reforms, drawing a distinction from imposed structural adjustments in bailed out States (IR, PT); changes responding to enhanced recommendations by the EU institutions (SP, FR); adaptations of labour legislation in ‘social partnership’ countries (DE, NL, BE), and transformations of employment law and rebuilding of industrial relations in Central and Eastern EU Member States (PL, HU).