Diverging Paths? Employment Relations in New Zealand and Denmark in the 1990's

Abstract

This paper discusses two interlinked topics: the shifts in the employment relations system and the role of unions in the two countries. An initial impression is that there is a growing divergence between the employment relations systems in the two countries over the last fifteen years. The implementation of free-market policies in New Zealand can be contrasted with a more mixed philosophical basis of the Danish reforms. However, the paper tries to demonstrate through an analysis of key employment relations regulations that a more complex pattern of divergence and convergence exists. When it comes to the role of unions, the paper presents a clear-cut divergence pattern. This raises two questions. Why have the Danish unions avoided the widespread decline in unionism? Why has the decline in union presence been so marked in New Zealand, and will the unions rebound from this decline?