This article overviews developments in industrial relations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland since the fall of the communist regimes in 1989, and assesses the extent to which key developments in these countries reflect both change and continuity from the communist period. We explore the four main institutions through which industrial relations have been conducted: trades unions, workers' councils, employer organisations, and the tripartite arrangements involving representatives of unions and employers with the state.The objective of this article is to examine key developments in industrial relations within the transformation context of east central Europe (ECE). In order to investigate such processes, at a time when the changes are still under way and much is still confused concerning the reconfiguration of workplace and industrial relationships, this study focusses on the three societies of the region where economic reforms and property change have proceeded furthest to date: the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.During the 1990s, the dismantling of the old mechanisms for incorporating social interests within the structure of the state has enabled employee and employer organisations to operate more independently than before 1989, but at the same time it has contributed to concerns about their fragmentation and a decline in their effectiveness in representing the social interests of their members. In this article we assess the significance to industrial relations of a variety of organisations that have emerged to represent the interests of both workers and employers during the 1990s. In terms of worker interest representation during the transformation process, 'successor' trade unions, 'independent' unions and workplace councils have each attempted to become important industrial relations actors, but have experienced a tense relationship both Ì Terry Cox is Reader in the Department of Government at the University of Strathclyde. Bob Mason is Lecturer in Human Resource Management in the School of Management at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown

This article explores the development of tripartism in east central Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Focusing on the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, we examine how the reshaping of national industrial relations in each country since 1989 has been contingent on the patterns of contest between state, employers and labour in each society, patterns which in part have been shaped by the legacy of structures and relationships from the `communist' period. These factors have influenced attempts at creating stable and coherent tripartite systems.

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