Thematic feature - collective agreements on changes in work organisation

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This article gives a brief overview of collective bargaining on changes in work organisation in Spain, as of September 2004. It looks at: the extent to which collective agreements introduce changes in work organisation that take into account productivity demands, flexibility and security in an integrated way; the main areas in which changes are being introduced; the overall success or otherwise of bargaining on the topic; and the prospects for the future.

The EU’s European employment strategy was revised in 2003 (EU0308205F), following demands for a more results-oriented strategy contributing successfully to the targets for more and better jobs and an inclusive labour market set at the Lisbon European Council in 2000 (EU0004241F). To support the three objectives of full employment, quality and productivity at work and cohesion and an inclusive labour market, the current employment guidelines identify 10 priorities ('commandments'), including one on 'promoting adaptability of workers and firms to change'. This identifies work organisation (alongside skills, lifelong learning and career development, gender equality, health and safety at work, flexibility and security, inclusion and access to the labour market, work-life balance, social dialogue and worker involvement, diversity and non-discrimination, and overall work performance) as an element in improved quality at work, which should be pursued through a concerted effort between all actors and particularly through social dialogue.

The 2004 Council Recommendation on the implementation of Member States’ employment policies provides for four priorities:

• increasing adaptability of workers and enterprises;

• attracting more people to enter and remain on the labour market, making work a real option for all;

• investing more and more effectively in human capital and lifelong learning; and

• ensuring effective implementation of reforms through better governance.

The Recommendation refers to promoting flexibility combined with security in the labour market, by modernising and broadening the concept of job security, maximising job creation and raising productivity. As defined in the employment guidelines, 'job security' refers not only to employment protection but also to building people’s ability to remain and progress in work. Changes in work organisation thus appear to be seen as a main vehicle for increasing the adaptability of workers and enterprises. Related to this issue is flexibility and security in the labour market and the relative attractiveness of 'standard' and 'non-standard' employment relationships (with the aim of avoiding a 'two-tier' labour market).

With work organisation playing an increasingly important role in European employment policy, in September 2004 the EIRO national centres were asked, in response to a questionnaire, to give a brief overview of the industrial relations aspects of the topic, looking at: the extent to which collective agreements introduce changes in work organisation that take into account productivity demands and flexibility and security at the workplace in an integrated way; the main areas in which changes are being introduced; the overall success or otherwise of bargaining on the topic; and the prospects for the future. The Spanish responses are set out below (along with the questions asked).

Recent agreements on changes in work organisation

Please provide information on recent developments (over the last three-five years) in collective agreements on work organisation that introduce changes in flexibility, security and productivity in an integrated way. The kind of issues that such agreements might cover include: introducing autonomous (or semi-autonomous work) teams; reducing the number of hierarchical layers; new forms of employee involvement; reorganising work functions; moving away from product-based structures to business unit; flexible working hours; multiskilling; job rotation; improving training (eg making it more systematic, ensuring wider participation, or changing the focus); new pay systems (eg performance-based pay, profit-sharing, share ownership schemes), and new financial and non-financial performance measures; or new appraisal systems.

The kind of agreements that we are interested in here are those that deal with a number of the issues listed above as an overall 'package'. Please provide any overall information available on this kind of development, if possible, and brief details of three or four agreements (at company and/or sectoral level) that you consider particularly innovative and interesting. Below is an indicative list of the kind of information we are seeking.

• What are the main aims of bargaining on work organisation - eg increasing productivity? Increasing personnel flexibility? Improving the company’s position in the market? Avoiding redundancies and lay-offs?

• What is the extent of bargaining on work organisation - how many agreements are there? How many companies/employees are covered?

• What are the main areas in which changes are being introduced - eg new organisational structures, new more flexible and less hierarchical methods, new corporate cultures, new business practices, more training, new performance measurement techniques, new reward systems?

• In the context of the introduction of work organisation changes, what kind of contractual and working time arrangements are provided - ie how is the flexibility and security issue being addressed?

• In the context of work organisation changes introduced with a view to improving productivity, what specific measures have been agreed?

• What are the motives of the parties in concluding such agreements - please indicate the motives of each side (management and workforce), such as reducing costs, promoting flexibility, securing employment, preventing compulsory redundancy, or improving terms and conditions.

Spain is in a process of significant change in the treatment of flexibility, security and productivity in collective bargaining. In the 1980s and early 1990s both the employers and the trade unions tended to consider each of these three topics separately, and they often led to tension and labour disputes. In more recent years a more integrated approach to them has emerged. This is demonstrated by some collective agreements, including the innovative sectoral accord for the chemicals industry (ES0107153F) and some company agreements, particularly in large firms. In general, the industrial sectors are more dynamic, whereas services tend to follow a more traditional line.

However, the most significant and innovative agreements on work organisation are the intersectoral accords laying down a framework for lower-level collective bargaining (Acuerdo Interconfederal para la Negociación Colectiva, ANC) in (ES0201207F), 2003 (ES0302204F) and 2004, concluded by the main employers' organisations - the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organisations (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE) and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Confederación Española de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa, CEPYME) - and the main trade union confederations - the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT). The ANC 2003 establishes that 'collective bargaining is a suitable instrument for establishing the definition and criteria of a pay structure (fixed and variable pay) that is adapted to the reality of the sector and company, bearing in mind its direct relation to the new systems of work organisation and incentives for production, quality or results, among others'. The same agreement states that 'it should continue to be an aim to achieve a suitable balance between flexibility for companies and security for workers'. Furthermore, the ANC 2003 stated that lifelong training and the development of workers' skills and qualifications must be 'a basic instrument for increasing the productivity of work, favouring a greater spread of the use of new technologies, and placing the workers in the best situation to conserve employment and prevent long-term unemployment'.

However, as the ANC 2003 recognises, 'any reform or change is registered slowly by collective bargaining'. Collective agreements have been slow to reflect these changes in approach. It could arguably not be otherwise, because changes in work organisation are introduced slowly in Spanish companies, and often deal with small details rather than taking a wider and more integrated approach.

Spain has a very high rate of temporary employment compared with the rest of the EU, and the trade unions are therefore very concerned about employment stability. This question has been on the agenda of collective bargaining since the mid-1990s, with agreements that regulate recruitment and seek improve employment stability. Since 1997, the employers' organisations have acknowledged the costs of the high temporary employment rate and have agreed to moderate it in exchange for flexible working time and functional mobility (ES9706211F). Consequently, flexible working time is now a demand of companies in collective bargaining, with formulas such as: annualised working hours and irregular distribution of working time over the year; increased worker availability; 'pools' of hours; the possibility of modifying the agreed working time in line with production circumstances; and variations in holiday periods. The demands of companies for functional mobility mainly refer to multiskilling and job rotation.

The trade union demands for stability and improvement of employment, and the employers demands for flexible working time and functional mobility open possibilities of 'quid pro quo' deals, as shown in many negotiations. With this exchange, furthermore, the employers gain legitimacy for their decisions on work organisation, whereas the trade unions confirm their position as actors in industrial relations. However, this type of exchange may be limited to specific aspects of work organisation, which in general undergoes few modifications. This is indicated by the fact that an occupational classification system based on categories of worker, following the 'Taylorist' model, is still dominant (ES0409107F) - even in sectors in which systems based on 'occupational groups' have been introduced, many companies maintain the traditional classification methods. Nevertheless, the ANC 2002 stated that 'an occupational structure based on occupational groups favours greater employability, training and professional development of workers, and competitiveness of companies'.

The pay structure has undergone few major changes: though 70% of workers are covered by a collective agreement that includes references to the pay structure, only 20% receive incentives linked to productivity. Furthermore, only 51.8% of workers are covered by agreements that mention training, and the 2003 survey of quality of working life ('Encuesta de Calidad de Vida Laboral de 2003') conducted by the Ministry of Labour (Ministerio de Trabajo) (ES0403107F) found that only 22.7% of workers had attended training during the last year, and that in most cases it was of very short duration. Collective agreements regulate multiskilling for 27% of the workers, and job rotation for 15.5%.

Flexible working time is possibly the aspect of new work organisation that has featured most in collective bargaining in recent years (ES0310203F): in 2002, the irregular distribution of working time during the year affected 43.3% of workers. In general, collective agreements do not specify the justifications for introducing irregular distribution of working time, which is the competence of the company management, merely mentioning the 'adaptation of working time to the needs of the company'. At most, the collective agreements limit the application of irregular working hours through daily, weekly or monthly maxima, which tend to be accompanied by an obligation of the employer to give prior notice to the workers.

Other issues associated with organisational changes, such as reducing the number of hierarchical layers, moving away from product-based structures to business units, reorganising work functions and introducing new appraisal systems do not tend to be dealt with directly in collective bargaining. In the places where these types of change are introduced, collective bargaining tends to deal only with their 'collateral effects', such as changes of labour category, or functional mobility. Work organisation systems based on autonomous or semi-autonomous teams have not been introduced to a great extent in Spain, and when they have been introduced they tend to be negotiated in 'company pacts', rarely in collective agreements. This makes it difficult to obtain details about them, because company pacts do not tend to go beyond those who are directly affected. One of the few collective agreements that deals with the introduction of a system of teamwork is that at the SEAT auto company, signed in May 2004 (ES0406206F).

Collective agreements also do not normally deal with new forms of employee involvement. Systems involving suggestion schemes, direct participation of workers and their involvement in the objectives of the company tend to be the result of company decisions and are rarely dealt with in bargaining.

Assessment

What have been the results of collective agreements introducing work organisation changes? Drawing on assessments/evaluations made by researchers or the parties to agreements (employers, trade unions, works councils etc) or other sources, please provide information on issues such as the following:

• whether agreements have been successes or failures, and the reasons why in both cases;

• the impacts on flexibility and security (eg are there any successful examples of collective agreements addressing this issue as part of work organisation changes?);

• the impacts on productivity (has productivity been improved as a result of the work organisation changes introduced?); and

• the impacts on collective bargaining - are such deals broadly considered as concession bargaining, or as 'zero-sum' or 'positive-sum' situations? What are the implications for the structure, process or nature of collective bargaining (eg company versus sectoral? workplace representatives versus trade union? from “distributive” to “integrative” bargaining [with mutual gains for both sides]) and the role of management?

Where significant differences of interpretation exist in assessments on these questions - notably between the social partners - please report on the differing views.

It is difficult to determine the results of collective bargaining with regard to the changes mentioned above. For example, studies point out that the renewal of pay systems and structures are introduced fairly slowly, and there are still only few cases of incorporation of more 'rational' pay criteria in accordance with the new realities of production. However, there is an increasing tendency to introduce variable pay items related to the results of companies or the productivity of workers.

Employment security, in terms of stabilisation and improvement, can be observed - albeit modestly - in statistics on overall developments. For example, the temporary employment rate fell from 32.9% to 30.6% between 1999 and 2003.

Clauses in collective agreements on irregular distribution of working time are now very common. Two consequences of this can be identified: sectoral agreements tend to refer matters to agreements at company level, which involves a greater role for the social partners at this decentralised level; and disputes on reconciliation of work and family life have become more common (ES0311205F). The reconciliation of work and family life has led the trade unions to pay attention to the management of flexible working time, which was dealt with in the ANC 2003 in the following terms: 'The use of flexible systems of working time must be accompanied by the shared aim of reconciling the needs of the companies with those of the workers, making their working life compatible with their personal and family life'.

Debate and prospects

What impact has the kind of agreement referred to above had in your country, and what impact might such agreements have in future? What is the current debate on the topic? Please provide an assessment of prospects for the future in terms of work organisation bargaining in your country (differentiating by sector, if relevant).

Agreements between the central social partners, and particularly the ANCs, have had a modest impact in terms of the application of their recommendations. However, their most important impact must be measured in the medium term, insofar as they introduce new subjects to the agenda of sectoral collective bargaining and above all offer a different approach to the traditional one. These agreements also have an 'educational' dimension for the trade unions and employers' organisations. The workers and employers receive messages on how to understand the processes of collective bargaining, and on how to understand work organisation, training, flexibility and job security. Therefore, positive effects can be expected in the medium term in terms of an increasing penetration of the criteria agreed in the ANCs in collective bargaining. (Ramon de Alós, QUIT)