What are the obstacles to trade unions' protection of social rights in Slovakia?

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the following research question: What are the obstacles to
trade unions’ successful protection of social rights in Slovakia? In order to answer this
question, the dissertation is separated into two parts. Firstly, the literature review
analyses obstacles to the successful working of trade unions in the post-communist
region impacting their ability to protect social rights. This chapter concludes that a
shift in trade unionists’ perception on their role in the market is necessary if they are to
successfully protect social rights. Secondly, the empirical chapter investigates the
perceptions of trade unionists in Slovakia in order to evaluate their role in social rights
protection and determines what trade unions could do to enhance social rights as
recommended by academic experts and third sector activists in this field in Slovakia.
The empirical findings from qualitative interviews refute the main hypothesis, that it
is the trade unionists’ own unchanged perception on their role which impedes them
from protecting social rights. Instead, the findings support more recent scholarship
into the topic claiming there is a new period of declining workforce tolerance for poor
working conditions and low wages in the region. This points to a possible increase of
the importance of and potential revival of trade unionism in post-communist Eastern
Europe.