MNCs and the Transformation of Bulgaria Employment relations. In S. Contrepois, V. Delteil, P. Dieuaide, and S. Jefferey

Abstract

This chapter considers the extent of the transfer of the European Social Model (ESM) of employment relations into Bulgaria through examining the examples of French multinational companies (MNCs). The choice of French MNC subsidiaries was determined by the role of the distinctive French social model and its influence on the ESM. Some authors suggest that the ESM is entering a crisis as it increasingly accommodates neo-liberal solutions (Schierup et al., 2006). This development also reflects upon the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) where tripartite social partnerships have not succeeded in raising industrial relations norms to those of the ESM. In some countries these partnerships are more a ‘façade’ with negligible influence on economic outcomes (Martin and Cristescu-Martin, 2004: 635). The French social model, however, includes pluralism in decision-making and legitimacy given to social dialogue, the recognition of employment rights (equal pay, inadmissibility of discrimination, training etc.) and dual employees’ representation (by trade unions and by directly elected representatives) (Amossé and Pignoni, 2006). France is thus among ranked among the six OECD countries with stronger protection of temporary forms of employment, specific requirements for collective dismissal and protection of permanent workers against (individual) dismissal (OECD, 2004: 72). A number of its key aspects are reproduced in European social directives, and French MNCs created some of the first European Works Councils (EWCs). Yet, apart from work by Claude Durand (1997), the influence of the French MNCs in Central and Eastern Europe has hardly been studied. Over the period 1996–2008 Bulgaria attracted FDI of total value €35 billion, 19.2 per cent of 2008 GDP (BNB, 2009). France is in 13th place among foreign investors with total FDI of €545 million. This investigation contributes to an attempt to understand to what extent the French MNCs might transfer their country-of-origin models, and whether such transfers concern only some procedural elements or more essential elements. The main research methods used were semi-structured interviews and extended self-completion questionnaires. The chapter begins with an analysis of the MNC role in the transfer of employment relations. After that, the results of the field research into the employment relations in the Bulgarian subsidiaries of the French MNCs, as well as some data on the employment relations in other MNCs, are discussed. Finally, the general conclusion presented is that the entry of these French MNCs does not lead automatically and directly to the transfer of their social policies.