This research area focuses on the actors, processes and regulations that govern collective labour relations. The topics covered are mainly those related to:
- forms of worker representation and participation in the workplace;
- industrial and economic democracy;
- collective bargaining, at various levels;
- minimum wage and salaries;
- trade unions: history, models, organization, policies;
- political exchange and social conciliation;
- bilateralism and contractual welfare;
- the European and international dimension of trade union activity (international conventions and treaties; sectoral and inter-sectoral social dialogue; transnational group agreements; CAE);
- the effects of European policies on national systems of industrial relations.