Trade-unions-European UnÃon countries-Case studies. 2. Industrial ... Abbreviations. Introduction ... conditioned. by the political, economic, and social changes associated with .... tion was accelerated by the crisis of the relations between the PSOE and the ..... more fully in subsequent chapters and in the list of abbreviations.
European Trade Unions Change and response
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There is considerable variation in the type of sectoral, multi-employer agreement to be found in the countries in the study. In Germany the ambit is normally the region or Liinder. In Denmark, most sectoral agreements have a national application. This is also the case in Italy where the 1993 Tripartite Agreement played an important role in consolidating the national sectoral bargaining structure and formalizing the hierarchy of negotiating levels in the country. In Spain, the situation is more complexo In sorne sectors there are national sectoral agreements, but still the most prevalent is the provincial leveL The absence of a significant degree of multi-employer sectoral bargaining in the UK inevitably means that the proportion of the labour force covered by collective bargaining is much lower than in the other four countries, as Table 3.2 indicates. Despite the continuing importance of sectoral agreements, it is important to note the current trend towards decentralization. Sectoral agreements are tending to become less comprehensive, allowing for greater flexibility at enterprise leveL It is seen by the unions to be of grea~ importance that this decentralization does not proceed too faro The existence of a large number of small, non-unionized companies makes essential the continuance of the safety net provided by multi-employer negotiations. In Germany, the disparities wbich existed in enterprise conditions between East and West made inevitable post-reunification negotiations to introduce more flexibility. In 1991, the average wage in the former East Germany was 40 per cent lower than that of the former West Germany. The result was an agreement whereby companies in the East were given time to catch up with their western counterparts. Sectoral agreements tend to be of two to three years duration in relation to most of their provisions, except payo In the case of the latter, revision clauses normalIy provide for more frequent review. In Denmark and Germany, there are specific provisions aimed at ensuring industrial peace. In Denmark, the government has the power to intervene when negotiations break down by extending the life of the previóus agreement. In Germany, durlng the life
The natwnal industrial relations contexts
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of a collective agreement, the trade unions need a 75 per cent majority in a secret ballot to initiate. a strike. The content of the sectoral agreements tends to be similar in all the countries studied, covering minimum wage levels, working hours and conditions, and, more recently, training policies, an item which is assuming increasíng importance as a uníon strategy for protecting jobs. The rapid changes affecting Western industrial economies since the 1980s have modified the bargaining agenda. In order to increase productivity in the enterprise, employers have sought to maximize flexibility in areas such as working hours and the organization of work. Tbis has demanded a response from the unions. In Denmark and Germany, the strength of the unions and the high degree of formal recognition they enjoy has enabled them to become fully involved in these new areas and approach them on a quid pro quo basis. In the other countries tbis has been less easy and the deregulation of the organization of work has often taken place outside the negotiating arena. The collective organization of employers reflects the pattern of collective bargaining discussed aboye. In the UK, membership of employers' associa tions is relatively low. Many international companies which are affiliated to employers' organizations in other European countries are not members of employers' organizations in the UK. There is no legislative framework regu lating employers' associations in the UK, which in itself makes it more diffi cult for the unions to achieve sectoral agreements. However, there are a number of informal employer networks in various sectors wbich playa role in the coordination of employer bargaining policies at enterprise level. In the other four countries, the membersbip and degree of organization of employers is greater, reflecting that of the trade unions. In Germany, the majority of sectoral employers' associations are members of the BDA (the German confederation of employers' associations). Membersbip is bigher; among larger companies. Small firms are more likely to adopt a 'free riders' strategy, benefiting from collective bargaining without affiliating. Neither the BDA nor the DGB directly intervene in the sectoral bargaining process but rather playa coordinating and mediating role. The Danish employers' asso ciations have a high degree of recognition as collective actors and are coor dinated by the DA, the national confederation. Even companies not affiliated to the relevant employers' association normally adopt the agreements reached in sectoral negotiations. The Spanish and Italian cases represent a midway point between the low level of employer organization in the UK and the high atTliiation rates found in Denmark and Germany. The high proportion of small companies in Spain and ltaly weakens employer organization because they are much less likely to atTliiate. Organization in Spain also varies according to sector. Employers in the manufacturing industry and the banking sector are significantly more likely to be organized. The coordinating role is played by the CEOE (the Spanish confederation of employers' associations). The Italian employers' associations, like the trade unions, tend to be politicized. For example,
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The national industrial relations contexts
European trade unions
Confindustria, one of the 1argest emp10yers' associatíons with over 112,000 affiliated companies, has been tradítíonally linked to the social democrats. 1mB, together with"tbe mgh proportion of small flIIIls in the economy, has led to a more fragmented pattero of employer organization than is found in most other European countries. Confmdustria attempted severa1 times to engineer a reforro of the employer representative structures in the 1980s without success. 1mS failure, íf anything, weakened the organization. 118 membersmp is dominated by larger companies and companies in the manu facturing sector, although in recent years, the importance of small and medíum-sized companies has increased.
Industrial conflict Industrial conflict, as measured by strike incidence, has declined in all the countries during the last fIfteen years, reflecting economic circumstances, the decline in uIDon power, and an increasing emphasis on collaboration, wmch is taken up in severa1 subsequent chapters. Union members seem to be increasingly conscious of the particular economic CÍrcumstances of their company and its competitive position. However, two qualifications should be made to tms overall pattero. First, in a minority of sectors (notably areas of the public sector), the decline in conflict is less evident. Second, there has been a tendency to measure the incidence of industrial conflict by reference exclusively 10 strike activity. This no longer adequately reflects the incidence of conflict, given the increasing recourse to other methods of applying pressure such as overtime bans, go slows, pro test demonstrations, etc. Notwithstanding these general trends there are dífferences in the incidence of industrial conffict in the countries in the study.. Italy and Spain tend to consistently display a higher incidence of conflict compared with Denmark and Germany (the UK lies in an intermedíate position). It is suggested that these dífferences are re1ated to the degree of institutionalization of collective bargaining and workers' rights, and to the relations between the trade union movement and political parties. The higher degree of institutionalization and stability in the Danish and German systems reduces the likelihood of confrontation, while the closeridentification of the trade unions in Spain and Italy with political parties reduces the stability of the system.
Conclusions This chapter has attempted to draw out the principal characteristics of the trade uIDon movemen18 and industrial relations systems of the five countries in the study, thus providing a wider comparative framework in wmch to 10cate the sectoral studies which follow. The UK has probably provided the most distinctive model with its low level of institutional support for collective bargaining and unÍon recognition. 1ms
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has meant that the power of UK trade unions has depended upon member smp levels. They have thus had to expend díspropórtionate resources on organization simply to maintain their capacity for action. Their success in surviving as a credible force has onIy been possible due to the longstandíng tradition and maturity of the movement. The Spanish trade union movement has a very dífferent problem. The high level of formal recognition conceded to the trade unions (as part of the democratizatíon process of Spain) guarantees them a significant role in industrial relations. However, they have had to paya price for this formal recognition. The trade unions' concentration on establishing democracy up to the mid-1980s, although necessary, resulted in a tendency to neglect the industrial demands of their members and supporters, which damaged their credíbility. In addition, the representative system and weak membersmp do tend to encourage a relatively centralized movement which lacks effective rank-and-file organization in many enterprises. The trade union movemen18 in the other three countries are by no means irnmune to the increasingly hostile environment in which contemporary trade unions have to function, with growing competition as a result of globalization, mgher unemployrnent, and continuing pressure for greater flexibility in labour markets, and for cuts in the welfare state. However, they are not experiencing the same degree of crisis as in Spain and the UK, given their maturity and the extent to which their role is embedded in the respec tive industrial and political cultures of their countries.
Notes In this chapter, as reference is made to a very large number of trade union organi zations, abbreviations have sometimes replaced full mimes. These are referred to,' more fully in subsequent chapters and in the list of abbreviations. . 2 In bis book Working Class and the Return to Democracy in Spain (1996), Professor Robert Fishman develops an interesting analysis of the challenges faced by Spanish trade unionism during the transition. He identifies the polítical transítion and the development of effective organization as the two principal challenges faced, particularly the latter. 3 We could also mention a fourth level of collective bargaining, concertation at nationallevel. However, because in the countries studied it no longer embraces pay bargaining directly, we have decided not to inelude it here.
