European Industrial Relations and Welfare States

Abstract

The argument that western Europe is moving from `Fordism' towards `post-Fordism', like Kerr's `industrialism' thesis, assumes that welfare systems are strongly determined by industrial relations factors: the balance of power between capital and labour and the breadth and depth of technology within the labour process being two of the most important. This paper argues that the relationship between European welfare states and industrial systems is neither as straightforward as this nor as technologically determined. The process of change in both should be seen as continuous, with different configurations of old and new reflecting historical and political contingencies, while welfare policies also have important consequences for industrial relations. This paper stresses the importance of developing a common collective defence of welfare and employment regulation appropriate to current socio-economic trends stressing individualism.