This volume: * explores the extent to which European Industrial Relations systems are converging *explores what has been the unions' reaction to changes in the economic environment * includes studies from key sectors: electronics, food manufacturing, banking and public administration * compares trade unions in these sectors in five of Europes most important economies: Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and Denmark

The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Spanish unions since the Franco dictatorship. It builds on industrial relations, political science, and political economy literature to investigate the trajectory of Spanish unions. It analyzes unions as political actors, that is, their interaction and involvement with governments, political parties, and political processes.