Sectoral collective bargaining is an aim of trade unions or labor unions to reach a collective agreement that covers all workers in a sector of the economy. It contrasts to enterprise bargaining where agreements cover individual firms. Generally countries with sectoral collective bargaining have higher rates of union organisation and better coverage of collective agreements than countries with enterprise bargaining.[1] Research by the OECD,[2] ILO[3] and the European Commission[4] has also linked sectoral bargaining to higher real wages, lower unemployment, fewer strikes and greater wage equality.[5][6]

European Union

In the EU, countries that have sectoral collective bargaining have significantly higher rates of coverage than those with enterprise or individual workplace bargaining.[7] Under the Adequate Wage Directive 2022 article 4, a member state with collective bargaining coverage under 80% will be required to make an "action plan" to achieve 80% coverage.

Collective agreement coverage by country in 2015
Country Coverage in 2015 System
France 98% Sector[8]
Belgium 96% Sector (and national)
Austria 95% Sector
Finland 91% Sector (and national)
Portugal 89% Sector
Sweden 89% Sector (and national)[9]
Netherlands 84% Sector (but also enterprise)
Denmark 80% Sector (but also enterprise)
Italy 80% Sector
Norway 73% Sector (and national)
Spain 69% Sector (but also enterprise)
Slovenia 65% Sector
Croatia 61% Sector
Malta 61% Enterprise
Luxembourg 59% Sector and enterprise
Germany 59% Sector and enterprise
Ireland 44% Enterprise
Czech Republic 38% Enterprise (some sector)
Romania 36% Enterprise
Slovakia 35% Enterprise
Latvia 34% Enterprise
Estonia 33% Enterprise
Hungary 31% Enterprise (some sector)
Bulgaria 29% Enterprise
United Kingdom 29% Enterprise (some sector)
Poland 18% Enterprise
Greece 10% Enterprise
Lithuania no data% Enterprise, some sector
Greece 10% Enterprise[10]
United States 10% Enterprise

In 2019, the OECD's estimates for the percentage of collective bargaining coverage was somewhat changed.[11] Collective bargaining coverage has generally fallen across EU member states, and most substantially in Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Germany and Slovenia, though policies to raise coverage have been implemented including (1) better employer organisation, (2) tying public procurement to collective agreements - as in half of German states by 2021 -, and (3) encouraging more union members.[12]

United Kingdom

While sectoral bargaining used to be standard in the UK, enterprise bargaining was advocated by the 1968 report of the Royal Commission on Trade Unions and Employers' Associations chaired by Lord Donovan.

United States

Sectoral bargaining was promoted by the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, but struck down and replaced by enterprise bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Today industries like screenwriting, hotels, and railroads still see sectoral bargaining predominate.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. Collins, Ewing & McColgan 2019, p. 546.
  2. OECD (2019), Negotiating Our Way Up: Collective Bargaining in a Changing World of Work, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1fd2da34-en;
  3. https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/collective-bargaining/lang--en/index.htm
  4. https://op.europa.eu/webpub/empl/lmwd-annual-review-leaflet-2023/
  5. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjir.12777
  6. https://op.europa.eu/webpub/empl/lmwd-annual-review-leaflet-2023/
  7. See Collective bargaining coverage from worker-participation.eu
  8. Reforms under Macron have since allowed enterprise agreements to under sector agreements.
  9. https://lo.se/english/the_collective_agreement
  10. This has dropped from 65% since 2012, see Collins, Ewing & McColgan 2019, p. 546
  11. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 'Collective bargaining coverage: A detailed methodological note' (2019) 19
  12. A Hassel, Round Table. Mission impossible? How to increase collective bargaining coverage in Germany and the EU' (2023) 28(4) Transfer], Figure 1
  13. Madland, David. "The Re-emergence of Sectoral Bargaining in the US, Britain, Australia and Canada". OnLabor. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

References

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