the practice of workers' participation the decision-making process of management, as well as trade union participation in advisory bodies which influence various aspects of government socio-economic policies, has long been established in western europe. with the development of tripartite bodies in the european economic community ce.e.c.) the influence of trade union organisations in the formulation of the commission's social and economic policies has increased as a whole in the last two decades, despite the fact that the influence of trade unions in the federal republic of germany and the united kingdom has decreased in the last few years. this happened because of the deteriorating relations between the trade unions and the conservative governments of those two countries, and especially of the latter