In this article we describe the key implications of the most relevant economic theories that try to explain the occurrence of strikes in the context of the wage determination process. The consideration of the strategic aspects and the information problems inherent to the bargaining process help explain the strike not as an undesired outcome of the negotiation process but as a rational mechanism to enforce agents to reveal their information. Although the empirical evidence offers some interesting results (for instance, those regarding the relationship between the strike incidence and duration, and the business cycle), some further steps remain to be taken in order to evaluate the adequacy of recent theoretical developments.

Keywords: strike, wages, collective bargaining, trade unions.