Wageindicator Support for Bargaining in the Utilities Sector

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Van Klaveren, M., Tijdens, K.G., Hermann, C. (2011) Wageindicator Support for Bargaining in the Utilities Sector. Wisutil Final Project Report. Amsterdam, Netherlands/Vienna, Austria: University of Amsterdam (AIAS)/FORBA Forschungs- und Beratungsstelle Arbeitswelt (EN)

 

Summary:

The energy, water and waste sectors are highly dynamic, as across Europe almost every day can be learned from the newspapers. Market regulation, internationalization of utilities companies, technological changes and pressures for energy efficiency and conservation are expected to continue and even to intensify. These dynamics also continue to form common pressures on trade unions organizing workers in these sectors throughout the European Union, united in the European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU). The growing awareness of this communality has led to discussions about the coordination of collective bargaining in the utilities sector within the EPSU. This report aims to contribute to the debate about the strategies for collective bargaining at national and European levels in view of market liberalisation, privatisation, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and technological change. It investigates the effects of these changes on wages, working conditions, occupational structures and skills, as measured through the answers of workers in this sector on the WageIndicator web-survey.