Remapping Labour Rights: The Case of Transitional Lithuania

References

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• Ibid.
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• Ibid, p. 70.
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• Apart from its two Baltic neighbours, Lithuania only came behind front runners for EU enlargement such as Hungary, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic (cited in A. Valionis, 'Investment Yields Returns', Lithuania in the World, 9, 4, 2001, p. 34).
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• UN Lithuanian Human Development Report, 1999, p. 69.
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• Romas Lazutka, 'Kas Lietuvoje ikalino darba?', Lietuva, December 2000. Even before liberalisation Lithuania had the highest comparative proportion of employees on temporary contracts in the Baltic states. See Aasland & Tyldum, p. 17.
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• 'Labour Relations Liberalised', Lithuanian Seimas, Parliamentary Mirror, 3,43, January 2001, pp. 13-14.
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• This is the well known argument on the political implications of foreign investment formulated by Baran & Sweezy in the mid-1960s (see P. Baran & P. Sweezy, 'Notes on the Theory of Imperialism', Monthly Review, 17, 10, 1966).
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• The structural limits of neo-liberal rule have been discussed by, inter alia, R. Griffiths, 'Capitalist Crisis: A Vindication of Marxist Political Economy', Communist Review, 27, 1998.
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• Ibid., p. 9.
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• R. Dovydeniene & G. Casale, 'Industrial Relations and Tripartism in Lithuania', in Casale (ed.), p. 230, suggest that about 20-25% of the working population are union members but note that not all unions provide accurate figures. Aasland & Tyldum, p. 17, suggest that trade union membership extends to only 5% of the workforce (as against 8% in Estonia and 10% in Latvia).
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• R. Valtaka, 'Fear of Investment--Escalated Myth', Lithuanian Business Review, 2000, 4, April, pp. 11-12.
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• Brazauskas was to receive the ultimate accolade from EU enlargement commissioner Verbeugen by way of an assurance that Brussels 'had full confidence in his reformist credentials'. By contrast to the former communist premier of Slovakia whose recent return to office was said to threaten Slovakia's progress in accession talks', Brazauskas was described as a 'successful former president' who had initiated Lithuania's drive for integration into the EU. See A. Lobjakas, 'Lithuania: Verbeugen Hints At First-Wave EU Membership', RFE/RL Weekly Reports, 24 July 2001.
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• With liberalisation of the labour market and bankruptcy law high on the political agenda for 2001, most observers have predicted even sharper rises in unemployment in the coming period as further restructuring takes place (see Rakuaskiene, p. 140). Following an increase in the number of companies declaring bankruptcy under the terms of the existing Lithuanian Law on the Bankruptcy of Enterprises, and having financial difficulties in paying their workers, an urgent decree of the government, passed on 1 September 1997, temporarily established a fund to meet the demands of the workers of enterprises currently undergoing or having experienced bankruptcy. During the year 1998 a total of 31.7 million LTL of repayable financial assistance was granted to 21 enterprises under this Fund for Bankrupt Enterprises. See Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, Social Report, 1998 (Vilnius, 1999), pp. 8 and 25. Employer opposition to this fund (0.02% of their contribution to the national social security budget) has been sustained and compulsory contribution s have been much resented. Remarkably, official sources continue to emphasise the employability of the highly educated Lithuanian workforce, of which 17.9% possess university degrees and 44.1% a specialised education (i.e. technical certificates) (Lithuanian Development Agency, A Practical Guide for Investors in Lithuania, at http://www.lda.lt).
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• The notions of a 'race to the bottom' or 'races to laxity', to which our argument bears close resemblance, are well developed in the US literature on state environmental legislation. For a review of this literature see for example P. S wire, "The Race to Laxity and the Race to Undesirabflity : Explaining Failures in Competition Among Jurisdictions in US Law', Yale Journal on Regulation, 14, 67, 1996.
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