Responses of trade union confederations to the youth employment crisis

The current economic recession has had a dramatic impact on youth employment across Europe. This article analyses responses by trade union confederations in Denmark and the UK. Looking first at their power capacities (with a specific focus on communicative power and its relevance for young people), the article moves on to analyse how these capacities and the broader political opportunity structure shape the nature and extent of actions in which they engage. The article ends with some reflections on the usefulness of communicative power as a new theoretical and analytical tool.