Cleared for Take-off? Management-Labour Partnership in the European Civil Aviation Industry

摘要

As product and labour markets within the European Union are liberalized and deregulated, industrial relations regulation appears to shift from national to sector and company levels. Nonetheless, company-based initiatives such as management-labour partnerships are still more likely to flourish in coordinated rather than liberal market economies. This is demonstrated in this article by a contextualized comparison of three national airlines. While Lufthansa has been able to develop an innovative, long-term competitive strategy, both British Airways and Aer Lingus have been permitted, if not compelled, to pursue short-term, cost-minimizing strategies inimical to their management-labour partnerships.