Restoring multi-employer bargaining in Europe: prospects and challenges
van Klaveren, Maarten ; Gregory, Denis
European Trade Union Institute, Brussels
ETUI - Brussels
2019
237 p.
collective bargaining ; labour relations ; employment ; industry level ; management ; trade union
Collective bargaining
English
Bibliogr.;Statistics
978-2-87452-528-5
13.06.5-67555
"In the last twenty years or so, collective bargaining across the European Union has tended to shift away from the industry or sector levels to the company level. This trend has undermined bargaining coverage and trade union power in many countries. Nevertheless, in some industries and countries multi-employer bargaining at sector or industry level remains robust and relevant. This book sheds light on how collective bargaining as a process has been changing in 23 European countries. Drawing on the statistical analyses and studies from the WIBAR-3 project enables an assessment of the prospects of restoring multi-employer bargaining in Europe and the challenges that such a strategy would face.
A main focus of the book is to highlight the interplay between market structures, industrial relations and employment patterns in five major industries: Metal and electronics manufacturing; Wholesale; Retail; Information and communication technology (ICT); and Transport and telecommunications. The unique WIBAR-3 survey permitted a detailed exploration of the relationships between industrial relations indicators and the key characteristics of the 575 largest companies in these five industries and across the 23 countries. Some of the survey outcomes are encouraging from a trade union viewpoint, for example, the finding that at company level relatively high ratings of the relationship between management and trade union were associated with a high union density. On the other hand, the more disquieting results showed that the lowest ratings were to be found in companies where employment was expanding. In contrast, management - union relationships in companies where employment was in decline received some of the highest ratings. To counter these damaging trends, the authors conclude that the trade union movement has to invest heavily both in capacity building and in ways and means to improve their relationships with management, in particular where employment is growing."
Digital;Paper
ISBN (PDF) : 978-2-87452-529-2
Legal deposit : D/2019/10.574/13
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.