Level-up!

Language

Project language: English

Project title

Level-up! Support and develop collective bargaining coverage

Funded by

UNI Europa

Duration

November 2022 - March 2023

Goal of the project

Increase collective bargaining coverage by levelling-up bargaining to the sectoral/multi-employer level

Description of the project

Collective bargaining is undergoing a transformation in order to address emerging issues in European labour markets, including the use of digital technologies for managing workers’ data and workers’ surveillance in a fair and transparent way, changes to working time accommodating workers’ needs in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic but also in seeking a work-life balance, or issues related to structural labour market changes and the mitigation of risks of exposure to political extremism. At the same time, coordination of collective bargaining in form of sectoral and/or multi-employer bargaining is gaining more importance than ever in connection to the European Minimum Wage Directive, which obligates the EU Member States to transpose stipulations related to minimum wage levels and bargaining coverage. Bargaining coverage can increase either by strenghtening multi-employer bargaining, or by the use of extension mechanisms to cover more workers than those working in companies organized in employers‘ associations engaged in collective bargaining. Due to the diversity of EU Member States‘ bargaining traditions and institutional foundations for bargaining, both mechanisms need to be plugged in to meet the above challenges.

Research questions

1. What are the main motivations/drivers/advantages for (1) trade unions, (2) employers/employers’organisations and (3) governments/society to engage in/support multi-employer collective bargaining?
2. What are the currently existing different types of MEB systems in Europe1, with a focus on the services sector?
3. What are the effects of multi-employer bargaining on working conditions, wages, inequality, competitiveness, innovation, social peace, and unionization in services sector?
4. What are necessary and sufficient conditions for the development of MEB systems, with focus on services sector?
5. In which periods, in which context, how and for which reasons were MEB systems developed and how/when/where are they under pressure?

Lead Partners

WageIndicator Foundation, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI)

Publications

• Ceccon, D., Kahancová, M., Martišková, M., Medas, G. & Šumichrast, A. (2023). LEVEL UP! Support and develop collective bargaining coverage. CELSI, Bratislava and WageIndicator Foundation, Amsterdam.