Western European Labour Standards Essay

Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a massive economic contraction impacted immensely on the transitions of the newly independent Central Eastern European countries along with the difficulties of transforming a socialist economy and regime into a market economy and democracy with a party-governed system dominated by political freedom. Poland, a fast growing economy and one that is fully integrated into Western structures, and Ukraine, a developing country that is still seemingly stuck at the crossroads between the West and the East, present curious examples of systemic change and their succeeding adoption of labour standards. Despite common roots and close proximity, Poland and Ukraine have their own histories of labour rights development, as well as differing labour market regulations and difficulties in implementing and regulating them. Globalisation, namely increased economic integration with developing countries, has led to the possibility of a “race to the bottom” in labour standards. This has opened the debate about …show more content…
However, despite the existence of International Labours Standards, labour regulations have varied across the globe with national models that are based on the ‘varieties of capitalism’ and other frameworks (Djankov et al, 2003). The first part of the paper will serve as a foundation for the analysis and provide the necessary background on labour standards in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Accordingly, the challenges of implementing and advancing labour standards in Ukraine and Poland since gaining independence will be critically examined and finally the conclusion will briefly outline the findings based on the analysis.
International Labour Standards (ILS)

Generally speaking, labour standards include the freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, non-discrimination based on gender or