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University of Cambridge

Trade union influence under austerity in Europe (2018-2016), a study of Greece, Ireland and Belgium.

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

My PhD thesis concerns trade union responses to austerity in Belgium, Greece and Ireland (2008-2016). It explores the power resources trade unions in Europe have drawn on during these crisis years, and seeks to establish if unions are cultivating new sources of power and influence, as traditional sources wane. My research points to unions being under sustained pressure, but it also presents evidence of effective union revitalisation, including through the formation of new coalitions with civil society actors, through the use of innovative legal approaches to problem-solving, and with unions reaching out to new, often atypically-employed, groups of workers. Notably however, the national level remains the primary concern for unions, and the European Union (EU) level of action remains adjunct to what unions do.

Degree

thesis:*
Name dc:type.qualificationname
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
University of Cambridge
Year dc:date.issued
2018

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Colfer, Barry
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Brown, William

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Author Identifier
0000-0003-1714-3721
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/287577

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Cambridge University
Base URL
api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Colfer, Barry. Trade union influence under austerity in Europe (2018-2016), a study of Greece, Ireland and Belgium.. Doctoral thesis, University of Cambridge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.34889