Detailansicht

he debate on 'The Dynamics of Wage Relations in the New Europe' is an T offspring of a research project on 'Disparities in Wage Relations and the Reproduction of Skills in Europe'. At a meeting of the advisory committee for this research held at the University of Westminster in London on 14th November 1994, it was decided (by Linda Clarke,]orn]anssen, Henryk Lewandowski, Philippe Mehaut, Patrick Rozenblatt and Frank Wilkinson) to set up a larger international committee to develop a programme and seek funding from the European Commission for a symposium of experts on wage relations. This committee of ten scientific experts was formed and invited to a number of meetings throughout 1995 and 1996 by DG V of the European Commission in order to develop a programme and proposal for a symposium to take place in 1997. Eventually the proposal, formally submitted by University of Westminster/London, University ofMaastrichti Netherlands, Fachhochschule Dortmund/Germany and University of Osnabriick/ Germany was accepted by the European Commission in May 1996. Additional funding was then obtained from the Hans-Bockler-Stiftung and the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research allowing, in particular, participants from Central and East European countries to be invited. The subject of wage relations, as a central issue of European social policy, was intended to be tackled in an open debate between scientists and policy makers, the latter as individual experts rather than representatives.

Intending to inform and intensify debate on wage relations in Europe, this text focuses on three aspects: the state and the regulation of wages; wage forms, the reproduction of labour and living standards; and competition, the market and changes in work organization.