European Insiders and Outsiders? Assessing the Reaction of German and French Trade Unions to EU Austerity
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929920931350 |
| Author | Thomas Prosser |
| Date | 01 November 2021 |
| Published date | 01 November 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929920931350
Political Studies Review
2021, Vol. 19(4) 624 –636
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929920931350
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European Insiders and
Outsiders? Assessing the
Reaction of German and
French Trade Unions to
EU Austerity
Thomas Prosser
Abstract
Though the existence of a European insider-outsider division has previously been theorised, a
robust link between the actions of certain workers and the existence of such divisions has yet to
be demonstrated. In this article, I examine differing reactions of German and French trade unions
to austerity in Southern Europe. German and French unions reacted to austerity in a lukewarm
manner, contributing to the emergence of European divides. This was particularly the case in
Germany, in which the stronger position within Economic and Monetary Union meant that there
were fewer incentives for solidarity. I link this development with the nature of the contemporary
EU, contending that the division is related to the propensity of Economic and Monetary Union to
initiate competition between national labour markets and an upturn in nationalism.
Keywords
crisis, dualization, European Works Councils, Eurozone, insiders, outsiders
Accepted: 12 May 2020
Introduction
Europe is characterised by marked discrepancies in labour market outcomes. In southern
‘periphery’ countries, high unemployment and diminishing security have prevailed for
near a decade. The situation differs in northern ‘core’ countries; in these contexts, condi-
tions have remained comparatively benign. Extant accounts have identified European
divisions between workers (Hancké, 2000; Prosser, 2016), though causal links have yet to
be sufficiently established; this is vital if a European division is to be theorised.
In this work, I establish a link between the actions of certain unions and the existence
of European divisions. Employing frameworks used by existing literature (Hancké, 2000;
Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Corresponding author:
Thomas Prosser, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Aberconway Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff
CF10 3EU, UK.
Email: prossertj@cf.ac.uk
931350PSW0010.1177/1478929920931350Political Studies ReviewProsser
research-article2020
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