Las transformaciones en la integración europea y su impacto sobre la acción sindical: tendencias y debates en las últimas tres décadas

this paper aims to analyze the transformations to which the actions of the unions in europe were subjected as a consequence of the integration process that started with the single european act. in particular, we state that the combination of a common market, a unified currency in most of the territory, the emergent policies of the stability and growth pact, the incorporation of the eastern european countries and a taxation policy that is maintained at a national level transform the labor market into the almost exclusive sector in which all the adjust policies concentrate. the internal structural differences in the labor processes, in the conditions of the working class and in the labor market configure a scenario in which, while the capital becomes more regional, the labor market preserves its national character. this scenario turns to be very different from the one conducted in decades previous to an increasing union influence, and is reflected in better wages and a welfare state that impro ved, in an indirect way, the life conditions of the workers and the distribution of the wealth. the new approach results in a profound change in the labor relationships that will be the objective of the first part of the analysis, being the next question the present day unions struggles, as well as the influence that the deepening of the current crisis have had on them. the last point of the discussion is the advance and appropriateness of some proposals to concentrate the union action at the regional level as a result of the process of the capital regionalization and the new space of its reproduction.