Across Central and Eastern Europe, many workers lack a meaningful voice in shaping the conditions that govern their lives – from wages and staffing to the pace of digital and green transitions. While these challenges are shared across the EU, institutions of social dialogue in the region often remain too weak to influence real change.
Four new publications authored by Jan Czarzasty, Sławomir Adamczyk, Barbara Surdykowska and Maciej Pańków explore how the absence of strong collective bargaining structures and worker representation undermines the sustainability of public administration, care services, and the waste management sector. The reports argue that without empowering workers – including through tools such as the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages – it will be impossible to achieve a socially just circular economy or resilient public services.
The publications were developed as part of the
project CEECAW – Organisational Challenges and Collective Bargaining in the Care, Public Administration and Waste Management Sectors in Central and Eastern Europe
