Europe witnessed a resurgence of various forms of industrial unrest in recent years, from seizure or kidnapping of company managers to street riots and other episodes of violence. These actions are practiced by employees and trade unions to protest lay-offs, renegotiate redundancy pay, and in general avoid or contrast plant closings or their relocation in areas with lower wage and welfare standards. The auther attempts to verify whether the recent trends are enduring transformations of industrial conflicts or have proved to be ephemeral changes, as it has often happened in the ups and downs of this phenomenon. In particular, the paper examines whether the decline in strike activity noticed in the 1980s and 1990s continued in the 2000s or has it been lately reversed, following the recent upturn in industrial unrest. What are the prospects for the years to come?

Keywords : Resurgence in Europe, Industrial unrest