An analysis of economic and labour market impacts
Edited by Maarten Keune, Janine Leschke and Andrew Watt

Four European countries in comparison.
By Janine Leschke

The annual ‘open issue’ of Transfer covers a series of different issues. Social pacts, security within flexicurity, solidarity and European Works Councils are some of the important subjects covered.

The coordinators of this issue are Jean-Yves Boulin and Kevin O'Kelly.

Social Europe: does hard law still have a role to play?
By Philippe Pochet

Job quality in Europe
By Janine Leschke and Andrew Watt
The ETUI has created a job quality index (JQI) in order to shed light on whether the goal of more jobs has been pursued at the cost of better jobs and how European countries compare with each other with regard to job quality. This Paper outlines some of the initial results of what will be a regular monitoring exercise.

Labour cooperation or labour conflict in the enlarged EU? Trade union responses to the rise of the automotive industry in Central-Eastern Europe
By Magdalena Bernaciak
This paper examines how Western and CEE trade unions are coping with intensifying cross-border competition. It asks what strategies they employ to increase or preserve employment levels and to improve working conditions in a transnationally competitive environment.

The "transnational collective bargaining within a European multi-level system of industrial relations" conference will take place on 20-21 February 2009 in Brussels. A call for papers has been launched.