The right to strike - country factsheets

The right to strike varies considerably across Europe, often with specific rules and restrictions imposed on public service workers. The European Trade Union Institute has produced 35 country factsheets that explain the latest legal situation. EPSU has also begun to add countries outside the European Union and candidate countries and a total of 43 countries are now covered. A further seven factsheets are planned.

Each factsheet sets out the main legal basis for the right to strike, indicating which international standards the country has signed up to. It then runs through the main rules covering:

  • who has the right to call a strike,
  • definition of a strike,
  • who may participate in a strike,
  • procedural requirements, and
  • legal consequences of participating in a strike.

The factsheet then looks at the case law of international and European bodies, including in particular the International Labour Organisation and Council of Europe.

  1. Albania

  2. Armenia

  3. Austria

  4. Azerbaijan

  5. Belgium

  6. Bosnia & Hercegovina

  7. Bulgaria

  8. Croatia

  9. Cyprus

  10. Czech Republic

  11. Denmark

  12. Estonia

  13. Finland

  14. France

  15. Georgia

  16. Germany

  17. Greece

  18. Hungary

  19. Iceland

  20. Ireland

  21. Italy

  22. Kosovo

  23. Latvia

  24. Lithuania

  25. Luxembourg

  26. Malta

  27. Moldova

  28. Montenegro

  29. Netherlands

  30. Northern Macedonia

  31. Norway

  32. Poland

  33. Portugal

  34. Romania

  35. Russia

  36. Serbia

  37. Slovakia

  38. Slovenia

  39. Spain

  40. Sweden

  41. Turkey

  42. Ukraine

  43. UK

Europe

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