INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS in the EU and SOCIAL EUROPE: developments and trends

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS in the EU and SOCIAL EUROPE
developments and trends

• Janine GOETSCHY
• (CNRS and IEE/ULB)

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Double évolution sur 15 ans

• Evolutions des Relations Industrielles au plan
  national (quid de la théorie de laméricanisation
  des RI ? Théories de la variété des formes de
  capitalisme Soskice, Hall Amable)
• Evolutions au plan de la construction de lEurope
  sociale (ni système de RI cohérent Falkner ni
  seulement libéralisme éco de lUE Streeck)

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THE ESM

• HIGHLY DIVERSIFIED NATIONAL SYSTEMS WITHIN THE EU
  (anglo-saxon nordic rhenan latin new member
  states)
• COMMON INGREDIENTS OF NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL
  RELATION AND SOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS
• (social actors collective bargaining labour
  laws employee representative institutions within
  enterprises tripartite bodies at national level
  social protection institutions public services
  education/training specific links between unions
  and political parties)
• - ON TOP OF THAT, COMMON EU NORMS and RESOURCES
  (EU directives collective agreements social
  dialogue practices policy cooperation processes
  open method of coordination in many fields
  structural funds)

4
Trade unionism on the EU

• Great diversity of unionization density 25-30
  an average in the EU-25
• some examples
• above 70 Belgium, Dk, Fin, Nor, Sweden
• between 30 and 50 Austria, Lux, IRL,
  Italy
• between 20 and 29 Germany, Greece,
  NL,Port, UK
• between 20 and 10 Spain some new MS
• less than 10 France some new MS
• - Employer unionization is an average 55-60
  in the EU

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Reasons for explaining this diversity

• Political factors (socio-democratic tradition)
• Unions providing specific services and insurances
  (to the U leisures social mutualities
  training) in Nordic countries, Belg
• Freedom of choice (France UK reform of closed
  shop practices)
• Union divisions detrimental to joining
• Capacity (or not) to benefit from CB results if
  non unionized
• Respective importance of labour laws and CB
• Size of enterprises
• Employer pressure against unionizationr
  historical role of employers in supporting union
  developments

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Trends

• General decrease between 5 and 15 of most
  members in EU-15 (more than 50 in many new MS)
  over the last 15 years
• Reasons for decreasing rates eco shift from ind
  to services specific industry crises employment
  decrease in large enterprises and devpt of SMEs
  precarious work contracts youth scepticism
  difficulty to recrute immigrants, teh young and
  women individualisation.
• - Important decreases in Austria, Germany and UK

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(trends)

• In general higher unionization in public than
  private sector (health, education,
  administrations)
• Mergers and fusions of union structures (ex
  Verdi in Germany, also in UK, Nor, Dk, Austria)
  to merge unions in a same sector (Verdi) or
  across sectors (UK) (to be stronger for
  financial reasons for coordinating CB
  (resistance to mergers in latin countries)
• Increasing distance between unions and political
  parties since the mid 1990s (in social
  democratic and christian democratic arenas) (in
  nearly all countries)
• Greater state intervention in union policies
  (social protection reforms labour market
  reforms wage moderation) tensions in NL,
  Austria, Ger, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Nor,
  Fin
• - The support given by Unions to pension
  reforms f.i. often disapointed later by further
  reforms (It, Ger, Austria, Spain, Swe)

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Trends as to Collective Bargaining

• Traditionally, each country has its specific
  bargaining structure i.e. different stress put on
  central inter-sectoral level, sectoral
  bargaining, enterprise level barg, territorial
  level. Respective importance of the law. Example
  Nordic countries France UK.
• Developments (Calmford, Driffils theory)
  decentralized coordination (Traxler) rather than
  total decentralization
• However a trend towards more enterprise level
  CB
• More open clauses in higher level agreements
  (or laws) and more derogatory agreements
  increasing role of experimental laws of soft
  law (CSR)
• Social Pacts in many EU countries mid 90s (to
  join EMU) less social pacts, but still in some
  countries (cf. neo-corporatist theories)
• Better adjustments looked for among barg levels
  and to changes in the market
• Also territorial pacts

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(trends)

• Developments in Collective Bargaining items
• labour market reforms flexibility deals (cf.
  the different forms of flexibility numerical
  (contract dismissal laws) wage work org
  working time)
• new rights for precarious employees
• training and qualifications issues
• job creation deals
• relocation and restructuring
  (info/consultation)
• wage moderation.

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EU LEVEL SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS
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EU LEVEL ACTORS

• - EU LEVEL POLITICAL ACTORS (Commission,
  Council, European Parliament, European Economic
  and Social Council, Committee or Regions,
  European Court of Justice)
• - EU LEVEL SOCIAL ACTORS (ETUC labour unions
  Business Europe employer unions CEEP public
  and territorial level employers)
• - LOBBIES of the CIVIL SOCIETY (women,
  environmental, consumers, anti-poverty)

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FACTORS EXPLAINING THE BUILDING UP OF SOCIAL
EUROPE

• The history of European economic integration
  
• The nature of successive EU enlargments
• The content of EU Treaties
• The political will of political and social
  actors to seize EU competences (cf. political
  majorities in MS extensive reading of EU
  Treaties role of the ECJ caracteristics of EU
  social partners)
• Actors institutional creativity to act
  outside the Treaties (OMCs)
• More general factors  globalization 
  demography  sociological evolutions within MS.

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12 meta-features of Social Europe

• SOCIAL EUROPE (SE) HAS DEVELOPED AFTER ECO
  INTEGRATION
• SOCIAL EUROPE REMAINS FRAGMENTARY AND BUILD ON
  AN AD HOC BASIS
• SOCIAL EUROPE REFLECTS THE FACT THAT THE EU IS A
  DYNAMIC AND EVOLVING PROJECT
• INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS PREVAIL OVER SOCIAL ACTORS
• SOCIAL EUROPE REFLECTS THE SPECIFICITY OF THE EU
  as a political regime un gouvernement mixte,
  shared competences, subsidiarity.

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(suite)

• MS RELUCTANCY TO COMPETENCE TRANSFER (beyond
  Left/right policy divide)
• SOCIAL EUROPE HAS BEEN BUILD ON ALREADY WELL
  ROOTED INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND SOCIAL PROTECTION
  SYSTEMS
• SOCIAL EUROPE IN AN EU WHERE ECO AND SOCIAL
  ACTORS ARE BOTH COMPETING AND COOPERATING

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(suite)

• THE CUMULATIVENESS OF THE ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE
  (geographically and over time)
• THE GROWING DIVERSIFICATION OF REGULATORY MODES
  (legislative, contractual, OMC)
• THE WIDENING OF AGENDA AND COMPETENCES IN TREATY
  REFORMS
• THE INCREASING ROLE FOR CITIZENS

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ELEMENTS of Continuity in EU social policy

• Hierarchy of policies (the social after the eco)
  (increased)
• The prevalence of institutional actors over
  social actors (increased)
• The dynamic character of the EU ( globalisation)
  
• A system of shared competences and subsidiarity
  (settled)
• Build on national variety of capitalisms and
  social systems (settled)

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(suite continuities)

• Plurality of regulatory modes (in competition or
  complementarities ?) (not settled)
• - EU MS at the same time in competition and in
  collaboration (settled)

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MAJOR CHANGES IN THE LAST TEN YEARS in EU social
policy

• More coherent project and extended agenda on
  social / employment aspects over time (cf. Delors
  1994 white paper)
• National social/employment priorities on EU
  agenda (less reluctancy)
• Extended agenda but not translated in Treaty
  reforms (difficulties for the legislative process
  but also the OMC) more and more social policy
  developments outside IGCs
• The plurality of regulatory modes a new route
  with OMCs dominating/ or complementarity between
  legislative, contractual and OMC methods ?

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CONCLUSIONS 6 ambiguities of Social Europe

• Ambiguity 1 interweaving of eco and social
  policies hierarchy of policies versus a
  rebalancing process ?
• Ambiguity 2 diversification of regulatory modes
  for better results but risk of hard versus soft
  law competition
• - Ambiguity 3 extended EU social/employment
  agenda but flexibilization and social protection
  reform paradigma ?

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(suite)

• Ambiguity 5 extended EU social/employment agenda
  with redistributed powers to the Member states a
  deal with governance uncertainties
• Ambiguity 4 extended EU social/employment agenda
  whereas an EU public space and EU solidarity are
  lacking
• Ambiguity 6 Development of governance tools in
  favour of expert deliberation (to face the EU-25
  interest diversity and reach output legitimacy),
  but this increases the gap with in put
  legitimacy

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Conclusion générale

• Much closer links between the EU and national
  level (compared to 15 years ago) though sometimes
  formalistic and elitist procedures (in terms
  of agenda content and policy orientations
  flexicurity)
• But at the same time, increasing diversity within
  the EU (MS) and within each national IR regime
  (decentr MNCs)
• Many difficult reforms took place at national
  level (IR and SP) and much new institutional
  creation at EU level (LS OMCs, EU social
  dialogue developments) to facilitate such reforms
• States at nat level and the EU, have triggered
  off many of the developments and played a
  strategic role more than social partners which
  were more on the defensive but used (and
  transformed) CB to adapt to market pressures (in
  front of globalization)
• Search for more autonomy on behalf of social
  partners both at EU and nat level
• At EU and nat level, growing importance of
  experimental labour laws and CB , and NPM (new
  public management)
• Both the EU and national levels are in a
  transition period
• - The feared Americanization of IR has not
  occurred though the last enlargement has still
  to be digested

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ANNEX EU SOCIAL DIALOGUE

• THE VARIOUS FORMS of TRIPARTITE DIALOGUE
• Tripartite Social Dialogue (since 2002) (SP,
  Council, Commission)
• Macroeconomic Dialogue (since 1999) (Cologne
  process)
• (ECB, Commission, Council Min, SP)
• European Employment Strategy (since 1997
  and previous Essen process) (EU and nat)
• Lisbon Strategy process (since 2000) and
  National reform plans (LS reform 2005) (EU and
  nat)
• Social Dialogue Consultation by Commission in
  legislative process (formally since Maastricht
  1992 - art 138)

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ANNEX EU SOCIAL DIALOGUE

• THE VARIOUS FORMS of BIPARTITE DIALOGUE
• Collective Agreements followed by Council
  Decision (Maast. 1992 3 intersectoral
  agreements parental 1996 part-time 1997 short
  term contracts 1999)
• - Autonomous agreements (Maast. 1992
  telework (2002) stress at work (2004)
  harassment and violence at work (2007)
• New generation agreements among social partners
  based an autonomous agenda (framework on LLL in
  2002 and on gender equality in 2005)
• - Joint opinions addressed to EU institutions

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ANNEX EU SOCIAL DIALOGUE

• Various other arenas of influence
• EWC (dir 1994 around 800) and transnational
  CB
• Alliances with various EU institutions (EP, EESC)
  
• Coordination of collective bargaining (Doorn
  sectoral level) internal to ETUC (during 1990s
  Prague congress)

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ANNEX

• - Numerous institutional innovations of EU
  level SD in 1990s and 2000s various levels
  various dynamics
• - contractutal regulatory method
  (beside legislative method) (also consult also
  SP implementation of dir) (Maastricht 1992
  practice just afterwards)
• - autonomous agreements (Maastricht
  1992 practice 2000s)
• - EWC at enterprise level (1994)
• - macroeconomic dialogue (Cologne
  1999)
• - tripartite EU dialogue linked to
  the Lisbon strategy after 2000 (see already EES
  in 1997) and a wish to prompt national and
  regional dialogue to various degrees (1997 2000
  2005)