A New Mode of European Regulation? - The Implementation of the Autonomous Framework Agreement on Telework in Five Countries

Artikel af Trine P. Larsen & Søren Kaj Andersen

This article examines the implementation of the first autonomous framework agreement on telework signed by European social partners in a number of member states such as Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Hungary and the UK. It argues that some member states (even those with strong traditions of collective bargaining) have developed alternative forms of implementation, although the telework agreement states that it has to be implemented in accordance with national procedures and practices specific to management and labour. The chosen implementation approach is largely determined by the specific policy type that characterises the telework agreement and the ongoing power struggle between social partners and between social partners and the state rather than the national regulation traditions. Indeed, this questions the role of path dependency even when European policies state the importance of following national regulation traditions.

Article in European Journal of Industrial Relations, Volume 13, Number 2, July 2007.