Financial Participation of Employees in Estonia

Presently, legal regulation of participation of employees – financial participation as well as participation in decision-making – is not well developed in Estonia. On the one hand, it is due to the fact that no tradition of employee participation could have been formed after Estonia became independent because different, contrary political aims, e.g. development of the free-market economy and promotion of national elites, were given priority. Although employee ownership emerged during the early stage of privatization, it was a temporary phenomenon. Earlier experience with employee participation in decision-making was considered to be a relict from the time under Soviet rule and, therefore, to be discredited and not worth following. On the other hand, the solution of current employment and social problems is not associated with a higher level of participation of employees.