Better work and life

EU Presidency conference on:

Better work and life: Towards an inclusive and competitive enlarged Union - 12-13 May 2003, Alexandroupolis, Greece

Co-organised by the Greek Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Speech abstract - Anni Weiler and Rien Huiskamp

ArbeitsWelt – Working World, Göttingen, Germany

Quality in industrial relations: comparative indicators

Social dialogue and the quality of industrial relations are seen at the centre of the European social model.

Quality in industrial relations is determined by the capacity to build consensus on both diagnosis and ways and means to take forward the adaptation and modernisation agenda. This also includes coping successfully with industrial change and corporate restructuring.

This definition of quality of industrial relations refers to the potential of social partners at all levels to deal jointly with both common and conflicting interests based on various interrelations between actors and established or emerging procedures. The emphasis lies on joint identification of appropriate approaches and processes aimed at managing change. According to the 'Quality communication', a broad approach towards quality reflects the attempt to promote rising standards and to ensure a more equitable sharing of progress instead of simply defending minimum standards. In this, understanding quality can, and must, go hand in hand with improving efficiency.

Beyond this general understanding of quality of industrial relations, there are a number of perspectives on the potential contributions of industrial relations. For example, these can be:

• an employment policy perspective focusing on the Lisbon objectives,

• a social inclusion perspective combating discrimination and any form of social exclusion,

• a gender quality perspective aiming particularly at eliminating gender gaps in labour market participation or in pay and improving reconciliation of work and family life,

• a quality in work perspective striving for creating more and better jobs.

Quality of industrial relations can manifest itself in the activities and representativeness of industrial relations' actors, in processes between the actors and particularly in the outcomes and impacts of these processes.

Indicators on industrial relations can contribute to a better understanding of industrial relations. An appropriate set of indicators can be used as an instrument to monitor and assess the development of industrial relations. Such indicators can also assist in implementing the joint work programme of the European social partners. A set of indicators can moreover be seen as a catalyst for the improvement of policy procedures and of statistics.

The 'Quality communication' emphasises that in order to address quality in full, it is necessary to develop indicators in a coherent and structured manner and establish an appropriate set of indicators within a framework.

Developing an analytical framework and a set of indicators on industrial relations is an ambitious challenge. Such an analytical framework model has to consider key dimensions of industrials relations: regulatory frameworks, actors, processes, and outcomes on different levels and interactions between them in the socio-economic context. It has to reflect the complexity of industrial relations without diminishing national differences and traditions, and offer the chance to understand similar patterns of outcomes of diverse national industrial relations.

Some examples of indicators of industrial relations and the options and limitations of such indicators that will be discussed are:

• strikes

• employee participation

• working time

• pay

• gender pay equity

• life long learning.

There are immense differences regarding the availability of statistical data for these indicators. For some indicators, quantitative data is available, whereas for others only qualitative data can provide information. Up-to-date EUROSTAT data is available for strikes, for example, as collecting data on industrial disputes has a tradition in the background of the ILO Labour Statistics Convention, but availability is more difficult for other indicators. In some cases, for example gender pay equity, several EUROSTAT databases can be used that offer advantages and, on the other hand, bring limitations.

Anni Weiler studied management studies in Mönchengladbach and social sciences in Marburg and Göttingen. She holds a Ph. D in social sciences. After her studies she worked predominantly as a freelance researcher. She lectured at the University of Göttingen in the field of social sciences on labour relations and on gender equality.

Anni Weiler founded her own research company and carried out numerous research projects in the area of European and national industrial relations. These covered issues like collective bargaining and equal opportunities, comparative collective bargaining and wage determinations systems, pacts for employment and competitiveness, financial participation or European works councils. She has conducted studies for the European Foundation for the Improvement and Working Conditions, the Hans-Böckler-Foundation, ministries of labour, trade unions, equal opportunities bodies and other institutions.