Master of Arts Thesis Euroculture Palacký University Olomouc (First semester) University of Göttingen (Second semester) August 2020 How I Became a Trade Unionist: Comparative Study of Life Stories of Young Trade Union Members in Georgia and Germany Submitted by: Nino Natroshvili Student number first university: F171124 Student number second university: 11906178 Supervised by: Name of supervisor first university: Mgr. František Znebejánek, Ph.D. Name of supervisor second university: Dr. Peter Birke Place, date Göttingen, 8/28/2020 Signature 1 MA Programme Euroculture Declaration I, Nino Natroshvili hereby declare that this thesis, entitled “How I Became a Trade Unionist: Comparative Study of Life Stories of Young Trade Union Members in Georgia and Germany”, submitted as partial requirement for the MA Programme Euroculture, is my own original work and expressed in my own words. Any use made within this text of works of other authors in any form (e.g. ideas, figures, texts, tables, etc.) are properly acknowledged in the text as well as in the bibliography. I declare that the written (printed and bound) and the electronic copy of the submitted MA thesis are identical. I hereby also acknowledge that I was informed about the regulations pertaining to the assessment of the MA thesis Euroculture and about the general completion rules for the Master of Arts Programme Euroculture. Signed Date 8/28/2020 2 Abstract Trade unions are experiencing membership erosion. To what extent they will manage to stay relevant will depend on attracting underrepresented groups of people, including and particularly young people. Engaging them can be decisive for trade unions’ survival, as they are going to be the main contributors in the future working world. The purpose of this study is to explore the young trade union members’ life stories, their motivations and worldviews which inspired them to get engaged. We investigate the experiences of Georgian and German youngsters through semi-structured in-depth interviews. A variety of influences can be identified, such as: their social context, labour experiences and socio-political views. They have strong sense of social justice and willingness to contribute to positive changes. It is evident that trade unions need to reinforce their participation at decisive phases of young peoples’ lives, such as first labour experiences and at educational institutions, as well as they need to strengthen support for youth trade union organizations. Keywords: Trade unions, Young activists, Life stories, Georgia, Germany Number of Words: 28344 3 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 7 Literature Review and Research Questions ............................................................... 9 Social Context ........................................................................................................... 9 Embeddedness of Trade Unions at the Workplace ................................................... 12 Labour Experiences ................................................................................................. 14 Political Inclinations ................................................................................................ 16 Instrumentalist Approach......................................................................................... 19 Concluding Remarks and Research Questions ......................................................... 20 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 21 Case Selection ......................................................................................................... 22 Selection of Research Participants ........................................................................... 22 Data Collection Procedure ....................................................................................... 24 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 27 Role of Researcher .................................................................................................. 28 Protection of Human Subjects.................................................................................. 29 Limitations and Strengths ........................................................................................ 29 Trade Unions and Young People .............................................................................. 31 Note on Trade Unions - Germany ............................................................................ 31 School-to-Work Transition in Germany ................................................................... 33 Vocational Education and Training (VET) ........................................................... 33 Trade Unions in Vocational Education and Training ............................................ 35 Higher Education ................................................................................................. 36 Dual Study Programs ........................................................................................... 37 Trade unions in Higher Education (HE) ............................................................... 38 Spread of Precarious Employment ....................................................................... 39 Trade Unions in Precarious Employment ............................................................. 40 Note on Trade Unions – Georgia ............................................................................. 41 School-to-Work Transition in Georgia ..................................................................... 43 Higher Education ................................................................................................. 44 Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs ............................................ 47 4 Young People on the Job Market ......................................................................... 48 Presence of Trade Unions .................................................................................... 49 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................... 51 Results ....................................................................................................................... 53 Social Context ......................................................................................................... 53 Childhood Experiences ........................................................................................ 53 Later Influences ................................................................................................... 59 Significant Events ................................................................................................... 63 Unity, Solidarity and Integrity .............................................................................. 63 From Strike to Union ........................................................................................... 64 From Agara to Tbilisi and Back ........................................................................... 65 Occupy Rustavi Azot ........................................................................................... 65 …And Then There Was a Strike .......................................................................... 66 Take me as I am ................................................................................................... 67 Labour Experiences ................................................................................................. 68 Lived Experiences................................................................................................ 68 Empathetic Support .............................................................................................. 71 Embeddedness of trade unions at the workplace ................................................... 72 Socio-political Views .............................................................................................. 73 Inequality and social justice ................................................................................. 73 “Smashing Capitalism” camp ............................................................................... 76 “Taming Capitalism” camp .................................................................................. 79 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 80 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 83 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 85 Appendices ................................................................................................................ 93 APPENDIX 1. Interview Protocol ........................................................................... 93 APPENDIX 2. Consent Form .................................................................................. 95 5 Preface I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. František Znebejánek and Dr. Peter Birke for their expertise and guidance. I want to also express my gratitude to numerous people from whom I have received constructive comments or support at different time periods of working on my thesis: Dr. Antonin Kalous, Prof.