Industrial relations in the 21st century: concepts, tools and challenges

Coordinating the Network of EU Agencies 2015

Industrial Relations in the 21st century: concepts, tools and challenges

4. Regulating Decent Work Conference

ILO, Geneva, 8-10 July 2015

Andrea Fromm, Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras, Christian WelzEurofound


Mapping Key Dimensions of Industrial Relations

Andrea Fromm, Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras, Christian WelzEurofound


Research questions

a) Which elements can be identified as the key dimensions and sub-dimensions of a comparative framework for industrial relations?

b) Which indicators and which data sources can be used for measuring these

dimensions?


WHAT HAVE WE DONE?


Eurofound’s vision

(…) knowledge will be used in the development of effective policies that lead to the

improvement of quality of life and work in a competitive and fair Europe.


Budd & ILO: employment with a human face


The four key dimensions


diagram attempt _ 1

Social justice

Industrial democracy

Industrial competitiveness

Job and employment

quality

Health and well being

Career and employment security

Reconciliation of working and non-

working life

Skills Development

Autonomy

Representation

Human capital

Productivity and growth

Quality of life

Research and development,and innovation

Equality and non-

discriminationCohesion

Fundamental (human) rights

Participation

Entrepreneurship

Influence


industrial democracy: sub-dimensions


Autonomy

Representation

Participation

Influence


from diagram attempt _ 1

Social justice



Job and employment

quality




working life

Skills Development

Autonomy

Representation

Human capital


Quality of life


Equality and non-

discriminationCohesion


Participation

Entrepreneurship

Influence

?


diagram attempt _ 2

Social justice



Job and employment quality




working life

Skills Development

Autonomy

Representation

Human capital


Quality of life


Equality and non-discriminationCohesion


Participation

Entrepreneurship

Influence

Openess

Legitinacy

Proportionality Accountability

EffectivenessSubsidiarity

Coherence

Good governance

Participation


… to the current “IR-windmill”

social justice

industrial competitiveness

job & employment quality

industrial

democracy


PRELIMINARY FINDINGS- STAKEHOLDER VIEWS

Andrea Fromm

RICARDO please add your slides here.


Trade unions


Trade unions

• North: social justice is a matter of legislation and therefore a responsibility of the governments

• West: social justice needs equal sharing of wealth • Centre-West: job quality should gain prominence (DE);

intervention from the government decreases autonomy (BE)• South: useful to analyse the balance between flexibility and

security (ES); useful in light of austerity measures and their impact (EL); improved employee participation required (IT)

• Centre-East: essential to sustain the European Social Model (PL)

• Baltic countries: social dialogue functions acc. to the ‘principle of survival’ on a short-term basis; capacity of social partners is critical (LT, LV)


Employer organisations


Employer organisations

• North: competitiveness is crucial (FI SE)

• Centre-West: competitiveness is crucial (DE); ‘modus operandi’ of social partners (SI)

• South: competitiveness is considered a topic of collective bargaining (FR) by social partners; SMEs and investment are crucial (IT)

• Centre-East: social responsibility is accepted but not in form of contributing to social justice in general; CSR is considered as a means to contribute


Governments


Governments

• North: industrial democracy is less relevant due to its institutionalisation and governments’ limited role in it

• Centre-West: strong support for industrial competiveness and industrial democracy (AT)

• South: interrelatedness is seen and considered as important to get out of the crisis (EL); issue of precarisation of jobs (FR, EL, ES)

• Centre-East: in terms of social justice > non-discrimination, protection and inclusion of minorities and children is crucial (CZ)

• Baltic countries: skills development is crucial (EE)


Questions

• Feedback on the 4 dimensions’ relevance for research and practitioners?

• Which are relevant indicators for measuring the 4 dimensions?


Developments in collective bargainingand Social Dialogue in the 21st Century

Eckhard Voss (WMP, Hamburg), Paul Marginson (University of Warwick),

Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras, Christian Welz (Eurofound, Dublin)


• Mapping of relevant developments and changes in the regulation and practice of collective bargaining from end of the 1990s until today

• actors

• processes

• outcomes

• Putting more recent and crisis-related changes into a longer term perspective, highlighting common as well as diverse trends

Objectives


Previous Eurofound

Work on the topic

Further literature,

research and data

Expert seminar November 2014

Questionnaire survey among

EU national correspondents (Oct 2014 – Mar

2015)

Key sources of information


SOCIAL PARTNERS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING


Trade Union density rates 2013 in %

Eurofound 2015


Employer density rates 2013

Eurofound 2015

Membership of employers’ organisations participating in collective bargaining (%)


COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESSES


Collective bargaining coverage 2002 - 2013


Collective bargaining coverage 1997/99 2011/13

Very low (<20%)

Low (20% - 40%)

MTCY

Medium (40% - 60%)

High (60% - 80%)

CYMT

Very high (> 80%)

68% 61%


Developments in deviations from CA since the late 90s

Opening clauses Opt-out clauses Other deviation practices

introduction or increase of deviation practices

before 2008

Germany, Finland, Italy,

Norway Estonia

Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania,

Poland, Slovenia

since 2008

Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Italy,

Norway, Portugal, Sweden

Bulgaria, Spain, France, Greece,

Ireland, Italy, Slovenia

Cyprus, Denmark, Croatia, France,

Lithuania, Romania

no/few changes Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovakia, UK


OUTCOMES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING


economic aspects employment aspects

work-related aspects

competitivenesschange management and restructuringflexibilitydownsizingoutsourcing and contracting outdemographic changeprofit-sharing schemesdismissal rules and compensationpensions

early retirement job classificationpromotion / career developmentintegration of minorities and individuals at risk or with a disadvantages in the labour market gender equality and gender pay gappromotion of active ageingmobility and career pathways, employment and redeploymentemployee leasing

employability/training prevention on skills shortagesapprenticeshipnew forms of work work organisationworking conditions (also for subcontractors)gender mainstreamingnon-discriminationwork-Life-Balancehealth and Safety (including psychosocial risk environment, sexual harassment)CSRundeclared work

Broadening agendas: outcomes/ topics covered


IMPACT OF THE CRISIS


Three groups of countries • ‘the six’ – multiple changes (CY EL ES IE PT RO); all (previously) MEB

– discontinuation (IE, RO) or significant weakening (CY, EL, ES, RO) of MEB arrangements, including removal / curtailing of key state supports

– significantly driven by external actors i.e. the ‘troika’ through MoUs accompanying financial assistance packages (exception ES)

• ‘the four’ – some changes (HR HU IT SI); three MEB, one SEB – primarily driven by domestic actors

• ‘the nineteen’ – few (or no) changes; twelve (of 21) MEB, seven (of 8) SEB– absence of major impact of the crisis on economic activity (e.g. PL, CZ) – capacity of existing CWSMs to secure wage adjustments (e.g. DE, NL, DK, NO,

SE, UK)– CWSMs marginal to wage setting (e.g. Baltic states)


Processes in the crisis 2008-2013


Company level

Sector level

National level

AT

CY

EL

IT

BG

ES

FR

FI

RO

SI

IE

Trends in main levels of CB

BE

PT


No. of collective agreements 2013

AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL1 EL2 ES FR IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SK UK


2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

sector CA194

164 166 115 46 46 72

companyCA

97 87 64 55 39 49 80

total CA 291 251 230 170 85 95 152

extension 137 102 116 17 12 9 13

coverage /in 1000 pers.

1,895 1,397 1,407 1,237 328 243 246

No. of newly concluded CAs in PT


Crisis vs. megatrends

Trend OriginRestructuring of actors MegatrendDecline in trade union density MegatrendPublic Sector Reform Megatrend Decentralisation of collective bargaining Megatrend (crisis accelerated)

Increase in opt-out clauses Crisis-induced trendIncrease in opening clauses Crisis-induced trendDecrease of extensions Crisis-induced trendShorter duration of collective agreements Crisis-induced trendDrop in volume of bargaining Crisis-induced trendDrop in quality of bargaining Crisis-induced trendShorter continuation of CAs upon expiry Crisis-induced trendReforms in wage-setting mechanisms Crisis-induced trendMore adversarial industrial relations Crisis-induced trend


Final remarks • ILO DECLARATION OF PHILADELP (1944)

– labour is not a commodity

• wage setting in the crisis and the new economic governance …..

• towards a marketisation of wages

• towards a re-commodification of labour ???


Further information

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Industrial relations in the 21st century: concepts, tools and challenges