COVID-19, Collective Bargaining and Social Dialogue: ILO-ACTRAV Report

Abstract

This report has been produced for the Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) of the ILO. It sheds light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the process and outcomes of collective bargaining in particular and social dialogue more generally. The report is based upon the responses of more than 200 trade union officials to a global online survey carried out between March and May of 2021. Colleagues of the WageIndicator Foundation (WIF) made the online survey workable in four languages. Insights of frontline union negotiators subjected to in-depth interviews were added. 

Three union groupings were identified: unions operating at the level of (sub)sector, company, or public organization; union confederations operating at national level as peak organizations of affiliated trade unions; and unions operating at national level but not as (con)federations. For unions in the first grouping the frequency of formal collective negotiations was reduced in Africa, the Asia and Pacific region and the Americas as the pandemic progressed, but in Europe this frequency increased. By contrast, the incidence of informal negotiations showed an increase in all four regions. At national level around three quarters of the respondents reported that their organizations had been involved in a social dialogue with governmental bodies concerning initiatives aimed at offsetting the impact of the pandemic on employment. Opinions on the successes and failures of this type of high-level dialogue were mixed. Three-fifths of the responding union organizations at national level had maintained tripartite contacts as regards the pandemic, with both governmental bodies and employers’ central bodies. Yet, one in seven reported that their organization had had no contacts whatsoever with their potential social partners in this respect. In notably Africa and the Americas the neglect of any social dialogue, or even outright union repression, seemed the root cause here.

The survey and interview responses suggest that on a global scale the experience of the pandemic have shone a rather more positive light on trade unions than has hitherto been the case. For example, the importance of frontline workers, whether healthcare workers, teachers, cleaners, retail, or distribution workers, has been well demonstrated and understood by the general public. There has been widespread support for union campaigns striving to ensure that these groups of workers are given the appreciation and financial rewards they deserve. To “build forward better”, the report contends that there is a strong case for the worker’s voice to be given much more prominence and recognition in future planning to deal with shocks like COVID-19.