Industrial relations developments in Member States in 2023–2024

Various countries saw the establishment of new trade unions and/or business associations covering a wide range of sectors. These developments point to gradual adaptation of industrial relations and illustrate how different interests lead to evolution rather than revolution, with some tensions remaining that may trigger further developments in the future.  

In Malta, three new trade unions were formed: the Union of AGV Malta Employees, the Union of Health and Safety Practitioners and the Union of C.A.M.C. Security Personnel.

In Spain, new unions were formed to represent employees in public administration (municipal workers, police officers and civil servants); education (teachers in Andalusia and Madrid, and private education workers); healthcare (emergency medical technicians in Madrid); agriculture and fishing; transport and logistics (warehouse workers, flight attendants, stevedores); and arts and culture (musicians, dubbing artists). Many of these new organisations are affiliated to national union federations, such as the General Confederation of Work (Confederación General del Trabajo, CGT) and the National Confederation of Work (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, CNT), as well as independent worker groups.

New business associations were also established in Spain, primarily in the tourism and hospitality, agriculture, food, transport and mobility (taxi and logistics services providers), commercial centres and industrial zones, and culture (music promotions and performing arts) sectors. In addition, there are similar organisations in healthcare, social services, education and innovation, as well as regional business confederations and multisectoral associations.

In Sweden, eight shipping companies split from the main employer organisation for the maritime sector, the Swedish Confederation of Transport Enterprises (Sjöfartens Arbetsgivareförbund, SARF), to form a new employer body, the Swedish Shipowners’ Organisation (Sveriges Rederiorganisation, SRO). The SRO intends to negotiate collective bargaining agreements on behalf of its members in the 2025 negotiation rounds (Sjöfartstidningen, 2024; Sveriges Rederiorganisation, 2024).

The Swedish Stage and Cultural Workers’ union (Scen- och Kulturarbetarnas förbund, SOKAF) formed in 2022 to organise workers in the performing arts and culture sector. In 2024, the nascent union was at the centre of a case taken under the country’s Working Time Act. The act prohibits night work unless it is societally necessary (e.g. emergency services), approved by a central worker organisation or exempted by the Swedish Work Environment Authority (WEA). Some strip clubs attempted to address this by signing a collective bargaining agreement with SOKAF to operate after midnight. However, the WEA ruled that SOKAF was not a ‘central trade union party’, as its membership was too small (21 at the time of the ruling). In 2025, the decision was appealed in the labour court, which upheld the WEA’s ruling.

The Nordic Member States and Ireland witnessed mergers between organisations, while in Croatia, there was a demerger.

In Denmark, the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs (Dansk Magisterforening, DM) ‒ the union that organises academic professionals in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences ‒ merged with the Union of Communication and Language Professionals (Kommunikation og Sprog, KS), which has 7,000 members working in communication, languages and marketing. This was DM’s fourth merger in just two years and this latest one, which occurred in November 2024, was expected to increase its membership to more than 80,000, making it Denmark’s largest union for academics. As part of this merger, a new sector substructure will be created within DM to include more than 10,000 communication professionals from both KS and DM. This move reflects DM’s strategy to expand and consolidate its position in the labour market, particularly in the field of communication (Akademikerbladet, 2024; DM, 2024)

In May 2024, Sweden’s oldest union, the Painters’ Union (Målarna), established in 1887, officially became part of the Construction Workers’ Union (Byggnads), bringing the latter’s membership up to around 113,000 (Byggnads, 2024). The motivation behind the merger, which was decided on by the Painters’ Union at its congress in 2023, was the loss of more than 1,000 members since 2005, which had left it financially strained.

In Finland, the Joint Industry Association (Yhteinen toimialaliitto, YTL) and Service Sector Employers Palta (Palvelualojen työnantajat, Palta) announced a merger in November 2024, which became official on 1 January 2025. Following the merger, YTL member the Pharmacy Employers’ Association (Apteekkien työnantajaliitto, known as Apta) and all its member pharmacies also joined Palta. Both YTL and Palta are part of umbrella organisation the Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän keskusliiton jäsenliittoja, EK), which encourages the formation of larger entities among its members, to simplify the member structure. YTL represents around 700 companies operating in such sectors as pharmacy, logistics and textile services. Palta represents companies and communities in a wide range of service sectors and, post-merger, boasts some 2,600 members, making it one of the largest employer associations in Finland (Palta, 2024).

In Ireland, further steps were taken regarding the proposed merger of two education-sector trade unions, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI). Historically, the relationship between the two unions has been tense, largely due to conflict over membership territory, and previous attempts at amalgamating them have run aground. In 2024, a survey of the members of both unions backed ‘continuing the work towards amalgamation’ (IRN, 2024).

There was one demerger in 2024, in Croatia, where the Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees (Nezavisni Sindikat Znanosti i Visokog Obrazovanja, NSZ) left the Association of Croatian Trade Unions (Matica Hrvatskih Sindikata), on the grounds that its affiliation with the association was not in the social interests of its members. Matica is an association of several trade unions representing members in pre-school, primary and secondary education; healthcare; the judiciary; and the military. With more than 55,000 members, it represents 20% of all trade-union members in the country.

Both Austria and Denmark saw an increase in the number of trade union members in 2023, reflecting the continuing strength of the labour movement in these countries.

In Austria, union membership numbers, which had decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, bounced back in 2023, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels. As at 31 December 2023, the Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, ÖGB), which has seven affiliated unions, had a total of 1,212,990 members, with 13,000 new members in 2023 alone. All unions bar the Union of Post and Telecommunications Employees (Gewerkschaft der Post- und Fernmeldebediensteten, GPF) recorded an increase in membership, with the largest union, the Union of Salaried Private-Sector Employees (Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, GPA) showing the biggest increase of above 3%. The Chamber of Labour (Arbeiterkammer, AK), membership of which is mandatory for all employees in Austria, now has almost 4 million members. The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO), which all employers must join, had 593,639 active members (out of a total 710,901) as at 31 December 2024. Meanwhile, the Federation of Austrian Industry (Industriellenvereinigung, IV), membership of which is voluntary, has more than 4,500 member companies, most of them large industrial enterprises.

In Denmark, the number of union members increased by 14,200, bringing the total to 1,935,500. This represents a cumulative rise of 141,500 members since 2013. The increase can be understood in the context of the overall rise in the number of wage-earners, of which there were an additional 30,000 in 2023. Over the past decade, however, the distribution of members across different organisations has changed. Notably, there was a 1.1% decrease in membership of the Danish Trade Union Confederation (Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation, FH) in 2023. In contrast, membership of the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne, AC) rose by 3.6%, while those organising outside the main bodies also saw an increase, growing by 3.4% (Danmarks Statistik, 2024).

Changes in the leadership of social partner organisations occurred in several countries in 2024.

In Cyprus, in November, the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) appointed Filokypros Rousounides, former director-general of the Cyprus Hotel Association (PASYXE), as its new secretary-general, succeeding Marios Tsiakis, who retired. Mr Rousounides’ successor at the PASYXE is Dr Christos Aggelides, who previously served as a member of the Executive Board and director of sales and marketing for the H & C group of companies. Dr Aggelides is also president of the Association of Hotel Managers, vice-president of the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and an active member of various Ministry of Tourism committees.

The Estonian Employers’ Confederation elected Hando Sutter as its new chief executive on 18 September, following the resignation of the previous post-holder, Arto Aas. Mr Sutter has held senior executive roles for more than 30 years, leading companies such as Eesti Energia, Nord Pool Spot and Olympic Entertainment Group.

In France, François Asselin stepped down as co-president of the Association for Security Work (Association Des Métiers de la Sécurité, ADMS) (AEF, 2024(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab). Mr Asselin also left his position as president of the Confederation for Small and Medium Companies (Confédération des petites et moyennes entreprises, CPME), effective from 21 January 2025 (Les Echos, 2024(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab; Le Monde, 2025(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab). He has been succeeded in this role by Amir Reza-Tofighi. Finally, on 26 January 2024, Dominique Payer stepped down as president of the Union of Local Businesses (Union des Entreprises de Proximité, U2P), with Michel Picon taking over the role (Les Echos, 2025(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab).

There were several significant changes of personnel on the trade union scene in Croatia. Krešimir Sever, who led the Independent Trade Unions of Croatia federation (Nezavisni Hrvatski Sindikati, NHS) for more than 25 years, decided that he would no longer run for the position. He was replaced by Darije Hanzalek, president of the Trade Union of Printing and Media Industry (Sindikat Grafičara i Medja, SGIM), the oldest trade union in Croatia and that part of Europe. Meanwhile, Vilim Ribić, founder and long-term president of Matica, decided not to run again in 2022 and was replaced by Sanja Šprem, president of the Teachers’ Trade Union of Croatia (Sindikat Hrvatskih Učitelja). Finally, Jasna Petrović resigned as president of the Retired Persons’ Trade Union of Croatia (Sindikata Umirovljenika Hrvatske, SUH) in December 2024, after 13 years in the role.

There were also instances of former leaders of social partner organisations taking up government positions. In Lithuania, Inga Ruginienė, the long-standing chair of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, was appointed Minister for Social Security and Labour at the end of 2024, following the parliamentary (Seimas) elections. She ran for election on behalf of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party. In Austria, eight members of the new federal government formed in early 2025 have a history in social partner organisations, the highest share since the 1970s. Thus, it can be expected that social partnership will play an even more important role in policymaking in this legislative period.

Worker representative elections took place in a number of countries in 2024. In Austria, mandatory elections to the AK were held, in which the ‘employee parliament’ is elected by all members of the AK. In the past, these were often won by the social-democratic faction (Fraktion Sozialdemokratischer Gewerkschafter:innen, FSG), with an absolute majority of 57.1% of the vote, followed by the faction affiliated to the Austrian People’s Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, ÖVP), with 16.6%, and the Freedom Party of Austria (Freheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) faction, with 12.3%. The FSG topped the poll in seven of the nine federal states (the two westernmost provinces, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, traditionally vote conservative and elected the ÖVP-affiliated Christian Trade Unionists faction (Fraktion Christlicher Gewerkschafterinnen und Gewerkschafter, FCG)).

In Belgium, workplace employee representative elections were held in May. These elections, take place in companies with more than 50 employees, meaning almost 1.4 million employees in more than 7,000 private sector companies across the country were eligible to participate.

In Luxembourg, elections were held in March 2024 for staff representatives in companies and representatives in the Chamber of Employees (Chambre des Salariés, CSL). Both elections, which are held every five years, are important indicators of the national representativeness of trade unions. Indeed, to qualify for national representativeness, a trade union in Luxembourg must meet two key criteria: it must have secured an average of at least 20% of the vote in the most recent elections to the CSL and it must demonstrate an effective presence across the majority of the country’s economic sectors.

In Slovenia, meanwhile, amendments to the Employment Relationships Act (ZDR-1D) came into force on 16 November 2023, establishing certain protections for worker representatives against dismissal. According to the amended law, the termination of the employment contract of a worker representative who takes legal action against the employer over their dismissal is suspended until the labour court has ruled at first instance, or for a maximum of six months. If the employer prohibits the representative from working, the representative must be paid 80% of the basic monthly salary (increased from 50%). The Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza Svobodnih Sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS) believes that the legal provision will provide greater protection against dismissal when it is abused to punish workers for trade union membership or participation in trade union activities (ZSSS, 2024).

The established cross-industry social dialogue structures are continuing to conduct important activities in a stable setting in most European Member States. New structures were created and existing ones revived in various countries.

In Ireland, the main relevant social dialogue body is the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF). It was joined in 2024 by the new Just Transition Commission, which comprises nominees from the five pillars of social dialogue (agriculture; community and voluntary; trade union; employer; environment) as well as independent experts from a range of fields relevant to the work of the Commission, including human rights and equality, skills development, rural and community development, social inclusion, the green economic transition and youth perspectives. Its main work will include preparing and analysing strategic evidence-based research in relation to just transition and evaluating, advising and commenting on policy planning and implementation, and progress on the application of Ireland’s just transition principles into national and sectoral climate policies.

In Malta, the main social dialogue structures are the Malta Council of Economic and Social Development (MCESD) ‒ which, as its name suggests, focuses on matters that relate to both the economy and wider society ‒ and the Employment Relations Board (ERB), which mainly focuses on labour law. Social partners are also present in other tripartite structures, such as the board of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) and, in their personal capacity, Jobsplus. In late 2024 it was announced that a chief executive of the MCESD will be appointed for the first time, to strengthen the body. A research council will also be established to assist the MCESD and the social partners (TVM News, 2024). These moves appear to be in response to issues previously highlighted by the social partners, including frequent lack of access to the research they need to make evidence-based decisions (MCESD, 2022).

In Slovenia, negotiations began in June 2024 in the tripartite Economic and Social Committee, after a deadlock of almost a year. In Hungary, the National Civil Service Interest Conciliation Council (Országos Közszolgálati Érdekegyeztető Tanács, OKÉT) has not met for the last two years, despite mounting problems and two requests for it to meet from the workers’ side, prompted by the vice-president of the National Federation of Labour Councils (Munkástanácsok Országos Szövetsége), responsible for the public sector. The government finally ceded to the requests, and the 2024 OKÉT plenary session eventually took place, on 1 October (Munkástanácsok, 2024).

In Poland, the Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy announced that the Act on the Social Dialogue Council would be amended to make the council more representative and enhance its cooperation with the government (Bankier.pl, 2024). Under the amended Act, the regulations regarding the representativeness of trade unions are expected to remain unchanged. The draft legislation proposes a number of changes regarding the representativeness of employer organisations, however. These include separating out companies and employers operating under the Crafts Act (Ustawa o rzemiośle) into those who are defined as a craftsperson and who employ workers and those who are similarly defined but do not employ workers; reducing the number of workers that members of employer organisations are required to employ; imposing a new criterion to ensure an employer organisation has not been artificially created through the association of a small group of employers paying high membership fees; and prohibiting dual membership of employer organisations by employers for the purpose of calculating representativeness.

In Lithuania, Law No XIV-3034, amending the Labour Code, entered into force on 25 October 2024 (Republic of Lithuania, 2024). It amends, among many others, Article 182(5) of the Labour Code, setting out eight criteria to be met by employer organisations operating at national level, including requirements to have: legal entity status; operated continuously as an employer organisation for at least three years; an autonomous organisational structure; and at least five employees with an employment contract.

In September 2024, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia announced that the role and tasks of the National Conciliator were to be transferred to the Chancellor of Justice.

In Finland, amendments to the Act on Mediation in Labour Disputes 420/1962 (Laki työriitojen sovittelusta ja eräiden työtaistelutoimenpiteiden edellytyksistä) entered into force on 1 January 2025 and affect the work of the National Conciliator, conciliators and conciliation boards. They are now required to consider the overall benefit of the national economy during the conciliation procedure between social partners in industrial disputes and ensure the functioning of wage formation and the labour market. The parties to the labour dispute do not have to accept the conciliator’s settlement proposal (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, undated).

• AEF (2024), ‘La coprésidente de l’ADMS Cécile Roussy quitte l’organisation patronale’ (‘Co-president of the ADMS, Cécile Roussy, leaves the employer organisation’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, despatch no. 715028, 5 July, accessed 3 September 2025.  

• Akademikerbladet (2024), ‘Fusion mellem DM og KS stemt igennem: “Vi bliver Danmarks største”’ (‘Merger between DM and KS voted through: “We will be Denmark's largest”’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, 27 February, accessed 15 January 2025.

• Bankier.pl (2024), ‘(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tabBędą zmiany w Radzie Dialogu Społecznego. “Musi być bardziej reprezentatywna”’ (‘There will be changes in the Social Dialogue Council. “It must be more representative.”’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, accessed 4 September 2025.

• Byggnads (2024), ‘Målarna är nu en del av Byggnads’ (‘Painters are now part of Byggnads’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, press release, 15 May, accessed 29 November 2024.

• Danmarks Statistik (2024), ‘Stigning i både inflationen og kerneinflationen’ (‘Increase in both inflation and core inflation’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, press release, 10 September, accessed 15 January 2025.

• DM (2024), Om DM (About DM)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, accessed 15 January 2025.

• IRN (2024), ‘ASTI/TUI merger process boosted by positive survey response’(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, Industrial Relations News 17, 2 May.

• Le Monde (2025), ‘CPME : François Asselin quitte la présidence de l’organisation patronale’ (CPME: François Asselin steps down as president of the employer organisation’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, 21 January.

• Les Echos (2024), ‘Présidence de la CPME : les trois candidats comptent leurs soutiens’ (CPME presidency: the three candidates calculate their support’), 3 December, available at: https://www.lesechos.fr/economie-france/social/presidence-de-la-cpme-les-trois-candidats-comptent-leurs-soutiens-2135381.

• Les Echos (2025), ‘Qui sont les leaders syndicaux et patronaux ?’ (opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab(‘Who are the leaders of the unions and employer organisations ?’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, 21 January.

• MCESD (2022), ‘Provision of evidence-based research and delivery of training: improving technical capacity of social partners’, Idea Advisory Limited.

• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland (undated), Developing the conciliation system(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, web page, accessed 3 January 2025.  

• Munkástanácsok (2024), ‘Beszámoló az Országos Közszolgálati Érdekegyeztető Tanács plenáris üléséről’ (‘Report on the plenary session of the National Civil Service Stakeholder Council’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, 7 November.

• Palta (2024), ‘Työnantajaliitot Palta ja YTL yhdistävät toimintansa’ (‘Employer organisations YTL and Palta merge’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, press release, 14 November.

• Sjöfartstidningen (2024), ‘Ny arbetsgivarorganisation startar upp’ (‘New employer organisation established’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, 8 February, accessed 28 November 2024.

• Sveriges Rederiorganisation (2024), Sveriges Rederiorganisation(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, web page, accessed 28 November 2024.

• TVM News (2024), ‘Several new actions to improve social dialogue announced’, 22 November.

• ZSSS (Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia) (2024), ‘Delavski predstavniki od 16. novembra učinkovitejše varovani’ (‘Workers' representatives more effectively protected from 16 November’)(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab, 16 September.