How does trust shape the world of work across Europe? Our third country spotlight: 🇱🇹 Lithuania

August 4, 2025

Lithuania’s industrial relations are marked by a fragmented, state-centred model with company-level bargaining dominant in the private sector and low private-sector collective bargaining coverage remaining below 10% as of 2024 (MSSL, 2024).

Sectoral bargaining is nearly absent in the private sector. The public sector saw significant growth, with the growing number of sectoral collective agreements and National Collective Agreement covering 58,000 employees in 2023, 66,000 in 2024, and 72,000 in 2025. 

The study reveals that trust is rarely discussed explicitly but emerges through personal relationships, emotional bonds, and informal dialogue. Evidence shows that trade unions value communication and continuity, while employers link trust to loyalty and predictability.

The study underscores that trust is relational, contextual, and often replaced by formal procedures where warmth is lacking.

Key challenges include the reluctance of employer organisations to engage in sectoral bargaining and a low societal trust culture.

Strength lies in leveraging communication and strong vertical union trust in sectors like metal and transport.

The foreign ownership models in banking present the possibilities for the implication of Nordic-type unionism.The “low trust trap” remains a core concern for social dialogue in Lithuania.

📄 Want to learn more? Read the report authored by Inga Blaziene & Julija Moskvina from Lietuvos socialinių mokslų centro Sociologijos institutas: https://celsi.sk/media/datasource/TRUE_Europe_Lithuania.pdf

#TrueEurope #Lithuania #SocialDialogue #IndustrialRelations #CollectiveBargaining #Trust