Social Standards

Topics | Wages

European Collective Bargaining Policy

Negotiating collective agreements has traditionally been the task of trade unions at the national and regional levels. However, since the mid-1990s European trade unions have been discussing the possibilities of working together more closely. There are different ideas about how such cooperation can be organised and how it should be developed as a counterstrategy to the increasing internationalisation of the employers’ side.

The European trade union alliance ECF-IUL/EFFAT agreed “Principles for Coordinating Collective Bargaining Policy at the European Level” in 1999 for the sectors covered by the agricultural and food-processing unions.

The national trade union confederations developed and launched the DOORN Initiative, which is designed to apply to all sectors.

Wage Policies Oriented on Productivity

The Doorn Initiative calls for collective bargaining to be coordinated between the different countries. It was launched by trade unions in western Europe (especially Germany and the Benelux countries) in response to the increasing movement of labour and intensifying competition between workers brought about by the progress of European integration. The Initiative calls for goals to be agreed among the different countries before negotiations begin, and for the results to be assessed afterwards.

Collective bargaining should be oriented on the growth of productivity, and agreements should follow the price index and economic growth indicators.

Wage Policies Oriented on Competition

Economic realities have overtaken all the efforts undertaken by trade unions to coordinate collective bargaining. The opening of the borders, in particular to central Europe, has opened up possibilities for employers to displace higher-paid local employees from their traditional jobs through wage dumping, illegal employment and use of migrant labour, leaving collective bargaining arrangements in tatters in many sectors. Currently:

• Agreements are being negotiated under conditions of intensified competition
• Sectors, plants and regions are being played off against one another
• Wage increases are lagging behind the cost of living
• Workers are being forced to accept falling real wages

Solidarity in Collective Bargaining

Even though the conditions for coordinating collective bargaining at the European level are getting steadily worse, demands for a coordinated European strategy are actually growing among many trade union members. The idea of solidarity in collective bargaining was developed at the instigation of Scandinavian trade unionists. At this point there is no agreed concept as yet – but plenty to discuss.