Commission issues 2004 industrial relations report

In January 2005, the European Commission issued its latest industrial relations report. The report examines issues such as the quality of industrial relations, developments in the social dialogue, the main legislative developments, corporate governance and the situation in the new EU Member States.

On 20 January 2005, the European Commission issued a report entitled Industrial Relations in Europe 2004. This is the third such report to be issued by the Commission - its predecessors were published in 2000 and 2002 (EU0211207F). The 175-page report gives a comprehensive overview of industrial relations systems in Europe and key trends in both industrial relations and social partnership. It identifies a number of key trends, including:

• the decentralisation of collective bargaining. It is stated that negotiations are increasingly taking place at company level, rather than sector or central level. The principle focus of company-level agreements is job security, rather than financial gain;

• globalisation, which is seen as changing the conditions in which trade unions and employers' organisations operate; and

• a range of new challenges, such as reconciling work and family life, tackling stress at work and ensuring cover for part-time and temporary employees.

The report consists of six chapters, examining: patterns and variations in European industrial relations; the quality of industrial relations; European social dialogue developments; a review of legislation from 2002 to 2004; corporate ownership and industrial relations in the EU; and employment and working conditions in the new Member States.

Patterns and variations in European industrial relations

The report's first chapter examines industrial relations systems in Europe and looks at the main actors - trade unions and employers. It looks at trade union affiliation levels, membership trends and representation. Similarly, it looks at employer organisation membership levels and their participation in the social dialogue process.

This section then looks at the processes of collective bargaining, social dialogue and concertation, focusing on issues such as coverage and extension of collective agreements, movements towards centralisation and decentralisation of bargaining, and any trends towards the Europeanisation of collective bargaining. It also looks at the issue of employer and trade union participation in tripartite bodies.

Quality in industrial relations

The second chapter focuses on the issue of 'quality' in industrial relations, stating that this is attracting growing interest at European level and is seen as an important tool in achieving the European Union’s medium-term economic and social goals. It places particular emphasis on 'investment in work ability' and training, citing a range of initiatives in this area that have already been undertaken by EU Member States.

The report also looks at the growth of atypical work, including temporary work, telework and part-time working, noting that although these types of working have grown in the EU, the growth differs according to Member State. It also looks at the regulation of these types of work around the EU. Other issues examined in this chapter include health and safety at the workplace, 'active ageing', equal opportunities and how to integrate into the labour market those people who are deemed to be at a disadvantage.

European social dialogue developments

The report devotes a large chapter to the issue of social dialogue, giving a comprehensive overview of both the processes and the outcomes. It lists the most important events to have taken place in recent years and also looks at tripartite concertation at EU level. Within the context of working towards the Lisbon goals (EU0004241F), it looks at social dialogue developments in the areas of lifelong learning and mobility, telework, restructuring (anticipating and managing change), corporate social responsibility (giving many examples of joint texts concluded by the social partners at sectoral level), the ageing workforce, the quality of employment and services, health and safety and the European employment strategy, launched in 1997 (EU9711168F). This section also looks closely at the variety of social partner and Commission initiatives that have been undertaken to deal with the consequences of EU enlargement.

In terms of the type of social dialogue outcomes, the report lists the different kinds of agreements that have resulted from the social dialogue process in recent years, giving examples of each kind. It also looks at implementation and follow-up provisions where these are required by agreements.

Review of legislation between 2002 and 2004

This chapter lists all the main legislative developments to have taken place since 2002. Topics covered include:

• information and consultation of employees and their representatives;

• working time;

• employee protection in the case of employer insolvency;

• temporary work;

• restructuring

• protection of workers’ personal data;

• health and safety - there have been a range of new legal instruments in this area;

• equal treatment in the access to and supply of goods and services;

• equality for men and women; and

• free movement and social security for migrant workers.

Corporate ownership and industrial relations in the EU

The report examines the changing corporate climate and the pressure that companies are under to adapt to change. It examines trends at national level regarding the interaction between corporate ownership patterns and industrial relations and trends in company-level industrial relations. It states that the various EU Member States have different systems of corporate governance, depending on their national systems and cultures. It makes the distinction between 'insider' systems, in which there are close and stable relationships between the owners and managers of a company, and 'outsider' systems, in which shareholders have 'fluid and distant relations' with managers. It goes on to categorise the systems of different countries accordingly. The chapter also looks at the ownership system of the 100 largest corporations in 11 EU Member States. It devotes some space to the issue of employee representation in restructuring situations, listing the rights of employee representatives in the EU Member States.

One conclusion that the report makes here is that although there are considerable external pressures on national systems of corporate governance, basic national systems are remaining largely intact and unaltered by these pressures.

The chapter also looks at the issue of European Works Councils, individual cases of industrial restructuring and the implications of EU policies for company-level industrial relations in the new EU Member States.

Employment and working conditions in the new Member States

This final chapter looks at developments in the new EU Member States, examining issues such as the incidence of temporary work, self-employment, part-time work and long working hours. It examines health and safety issues in some depth, stating that enterprises still need to pay more attention to this area. More generally, the report looks at employment and unemployment levels, minimum wages, the situation of women in the labour market and the position of disadvantages groups. Stating that tripartism is a dominant characteristic of the systems of many new EU Member States, this chapter looks at this issue in more detail. It also examines the issue of employee participation.

In conclusion, the report states that the new EU Member States have already shown themselves to be ready to adapt to changing circumstances. However, an important challenge for the future will be to 'promote more sustainable and socially cohesive societies at the same time as continuing their adaptation process'.

Commentary

Industrial Relations in Europe 2004 is a major and comprehensive report dealing with the main issues of employment, social and industrial relations issues facing the European Union. It also serves as a guide to the main industrial relations institutions and actors. Its particular focus on corporate governance, restructuring and quality in work reflects current trends and preoccupations.

For the first time, the report also aims to provide much more of a comprehensive insight into the industrial relations systems and trends in the new EU Member States, noting that progress has been made, but they still face significant challenges in the area of social policy and industrial relations. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)