This article looks at the responses of European trade unions to EU legislation against racial discrimination. Previous research has revealed great variety between EU countries in the nature and extent of union responses to immigration and issues of racial discrimination. However, the EU Racial Equality Directive, adopted in 2000, has become a factor for potential convergence in trade union policies in this field. All EU countries now have in place legislation forbidding racial discrimination in employment, and for some this has been an entirely new development. The article draws on research by two EU agencies – the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights – carried out 14 years apart, covering all EU Member States. Their research throws light on the differences that exist between EU Member States in trade unions’ awareness of, and receptiveness to, the Racial Equality Directive, as well as on changes in union attitudes and policies that have occurred since the 1990s.
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