THE INVENTION OF WORKS COUNCILS IN HUNGARY

Works councils were introduced in Hungary in 1992, partly on the model of the German industrial relations system. The objective was to resol ve a crisis of industrial relations in the transition to a market econ omy: the fragmentation of trade unions, the vacuum of institutionaliza tion, and the representation gap for non-union workers. Drawing on cas e study research, this article evaluates the experience to date and co ncludes that the 'artificial' imposition of an unfamiliar structure of employee representation has been only partly successful, though argua bly contributing to the consolidation of industrial relations in a mul ti-union environment.