The European Union’s Social Charter is a treaty between members of the European Union that guarantees the fundamental rights of employees within the Union. It can, however, be argued that the said charter had little to do with employee rights and everything to do with the balance of labor in the union, which has unequal economies and labor rules. This would, in turn, prevent nations who allow for poorer labor rules to attract industrial investment away from countries with more stringent labor rules (Holley, Wolters & Ross, 2017) . The effect of the charter, however, was a great benefit for employees within the union. These benefits include proper wages, equal pay for equal work without any elements of discriminations, protection of immigrant workers, and reasonable labor relation practices. By signing the treaty, European Nations commit themselves to have the provisions of the charter guide how they enact labor laws and by extension regulate the labor market (Holley, Wolters & Ross, 2017) . The net effect has been to provide near-standard working conditions within the European Union, a fact that greatly reduces wriggle room in labor relation negotiations.
Understanding of the aforesaid social charter is fundamental for American firms who wish to invest in Europe and thus engage European labor. The labor relations movement in the US is mainly adversarial and in extreme instances seemingly combatant. Employers and employees are always engaged in a show of force where the employer seeks to give as little as possible and the employee to get as much as possible from the same employer (Holley, Wolters & Ross, 2017) . In the EU, however, the bare minimums are set by the law. This goes beyond just minimum wages as is the case in the USA. Secondary employee rights are guaranteed by statute and not determined by the profitability of the company as is the case in the US. Most importantly, even when the employer brings in an external labor force, the same rights apply just as with the local labor force. Therefore, before an American investor ventures into Europe, it is important to understand that there is a stricter element of regulation within the labor market, premised on the European Union’s Social Charter.
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Reference
Holley, W. H., Wolters, R. S. & Ross, W. (2017). The labor relations process . Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
