Extension of collective bargaining agreements in the EU - Background paper

This report gives an overview of the extension mechanisms of collective bargaining agreements, deriving its data from the Eurofound industrial relations country profiles (2009). In principle, collective agreements are only legally enforceable against contracting parties. National and sectoral collective bargaining agreements can, however, be extended so that they also apply to employees and employers who were not represented by the social partners signing the agreement. Such cases of extension mechanisms, in which rights are owed towards all parties, exist in almost all EU Member States (Sciarra, 2005).