Central agreement on bargaining in 2002

Download article in original language : ES0201207FES.DOC

In mid-December 2001, after lengthy negotiations, Spain's central trade union confederations and employers' organisations concluded an 'Agreement for collective bargaining 2002'. The deal lays down guidelines and criteria for lower-level bargaining in 2002, including pay increases linked to inflation and productivity gains, and a focus on employment and health and safety.

In April 1997, the main employers' organisations - the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organisations (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE) and the Confederation of Employers of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Confederación Española de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa, CEPYME) - and the most representative trade unions - the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) and the General Workers' Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) - signed an intersectoral agreement on collective bargaining (ES9706211F). The aim of this agreement was to help to create a new system of bargaining with a more rational structure and better articulation between the different levels. However, after four years, little progress had been made and in late May 2001, the same organisations agreed to set up a commission for dialogue over the reform of collective bargaining (ES0107150N).

From the start of the discussions, the presence of the government, though indirect, was very important. First, it set September 2001 as the deadline for reaching an agreement, because it wished to include the changes in the law accompanying the state budget for 2002. This deadline was rejected by the social partners, and finally the government withdrew it. Second, on several occasions the government stated its opinion on the proposed content of an agreement on bargaining reform

Difficult negotiations

The negotiations between the trade unions and employers' organisations were fraught with difficulties because of the wide differences between their positions. However, in early July 2001 both parties agreed to start dealing with the structure of collective bargaining, and on the need to simplify it and to reduce the number of collective agreements. However, the two sides had a different interpretation of how to rationalise bargaining. Whereas for the trade unions, sectoral collective agreements have to be reinforced so as to structure and articulate the lower levels of bargaining, for the employers' organisations priority must be given to collective agreements at company level, which they see as best adapted to the economic situation of each area.

The principle of 'Ultraactividad' (literally 'ultra-activity') was another major point of friction. This means that the legal validity of an agreement is maintained even if it has expired and has not been renewed. Whereas the unions consider it essential to maintain this principle, the employers' organisations feel that it should be abolished or severely limited. In the negotiations, the government also expressed its preferences: the topics to be dealt with at each level of bargaining should be clearly delimited, giving greater margins for bargaining at company level; and 'ultra-activity' should be limited only to certain questions.

Agreement reached

In autumn 2001, the negotiations were considered to have failed, and the government clearly expressed its intention to impose a reform unilaterally through legislation. In response to this, the trade unions and employers' organisations agreed to reach a pact on general guidelines for collective bargaining (ES0112242F), and obtained in exchange the government's commitment not to impose a reform. Thus, in mid-December 2001, the social partners signed an 'agreement for collective bargaining 2002' (Acuerdo para la Negociación Colectiva 2002, ANC 2002), which establishes criteria for bargaining in 2002. The agreement is thus the result of the failure to agree on a reform of the structure of collective bargaining but also of a commitment made by the social partners to avoid having a reform imposed by the government. An important point is that in the agreement the social partners avoid any reference or commitment to future negotiations on the structure of collective bargaining.

The agreement reached is based on an analysis of the economic situation and employment in Spain, observing a fall-off in economic growth (from 4.1% in 2000 to 3% in 2001 and 2.4% forecast for 2002) and employment growth (from 3.1% in 2000 to 2.1% in 2001 and 1.1% forecast for 2002). Temporary employment in Spain makes up just under 32% of all employment, and employment problems continue among women and young people. In response to predicted difficulties, the agreement states that wage moderation and internal flexibility in companies, along with training, professional qualification, investment in technology and better quality products and services, are favourable factors for 'competitiveness, the capacity for growth and job creation'. All of these areas fall within the sphere of collective bargaining. In a situation marked by economic uncertainty and symptoms of recession, the virtues of the social dialogue are stressed as the best means to resolve disputes and inspire confidence in society.

Main points

The main points of the agreement on bargaining in 2002 are as follows.

Period of validity and monitoring

The agreement will remain in force for one year, from 1 January to 31 December 2002, though after nine months the parties may decide to renew or extend it. A monitoring commission made up of three representatives of each of the signatory organisations has been set up to interpret the agreement.

Pay

In order to help control inflation, and thus to maintain and create jobs, the signatories agree that wage bargaining in 2002 will take as a reference the government's inflation forecast for the year - ie 2%. Wage increases may be higher than the forecast inflation rate within the limits arising from the increase in productivity, calculated as a national average of 1.1%. Wage bargaining must bear in mind purchasing power, and support job maintenance and creation in companies.

The agreement also establishes that collective agreements will include a wage revision clause, which must not affect the objective of wage moderation. This was one of the main obstacles to the employers' organisations signing the agreement, but it was considered essential by the trade unions in order to maintain purchasing power if real inflation is greater than the government forecasts. Seven out of 10 workers are currently covered by a clause of this type in a collective agreement. The accord also states that collective agreements are a suitable instrument for defining the pay structure (fixed and variable items) (ES0109204F), and that collective agreements at levels higher than the company must include a clause allowing non-application of the agreed pay increases in companies with special difficulties.

Employment

. The following objectives are laid down in the area of employment:

• maintaining and increasing employment, fostering its stability and helping to avoid traumatic adjustments. After stating that employment stability is considered to be a guarantee of competitiveness for companies and of safety for workers, the signatories agree that collective agreements must take on a leading role in fostering the proper use of the different types of recruitment, seeking equilibrium between flexibility and safety. To this end, some guidelines are put forward for progressing towards the adoption of wide occupational classification structures (ES9706110F), which favour functional mobility within each category. The management of working time, its duration and its distribution may, it is stated, lead to a better evolution of employment and reconcile the needs of workers and employers. In order to resolve disputes in negotiations on this point, it is considered that employers and workers must share suitable, stable and regular levels of information that allow them to anticipate changes. The parties thus recommend the creation of national sectoral 'observatories' on employment and competitiveness, which could make periodical analyses on economic tendencies and prospects in the sectors, and on the situation and structure of employment;

• promoting the professional qualification of workers, to ensure their employability and as a key element of adaptation for companies; and

• promoting equal opportunities and helping to eliminate gender discrimination in employment and occupation. Though collective agreements do not tend to contain formal differences in terms of gender, the promotion of actions aimed at eliminating pay discrimination and favouring equal opportunities for men and women in employment and recruitment is recommended

Health and safety at work

It is recommended that collective agreements deal with: the employers' duty to ensure health protection in line with those risks that have been assessed and not eliminated; time off for safety representatives; the establishment of joint committees to analyse and propose health and safety solutions; the health sand safety training that workers should receive; and updating of risk assessments.

Bargaining process

The parties have drawn up recommendations to facilitate the negotiation of collective agreements. These cover: not delaying the start of the bargaining process; drawing up written proposals, particularly on difficult points in bargaining; and resorting to systems for resolving disputes out of court (ES0104238N) when substantial differences arise that are an obstacle to the bargaining process.

Commentary

Overall, the social partners' accord is a binding agreement with regard to the criteria, guidelines and recommendations for collective bargaining in 2002, which the signatories have agreed to accept directly.

Though many of the points in ANC 2002 are of a general nature, the deal is of particular importance in Spanish industrial relations. Most notably, until the new agreement the social partners had not jointly agreed a reference wage level or other criteria for collective bargaining since 1984. Over this period, collective bargaining (and wage revision) has been highly fragmented, and only in recent years has it been coordinated internally by each social partner organisation. ANC 2002 introduces a procedure for coordinating collective bargaining on pay and other issued by establishing commitments that must be observed by the signatories in decentralised bargaining processes.

With regard to the scope of the agreement, it is calculated that it will lead to a pay rise of 2%-3% in 4,000 collective agreements, covering 6 million workers whose wages will be revised as of 1 January 2002. The remaining 4 million workers already have an agreed pay rise for 2002 resulting from earlier long-term agreements, with an average increase of 4% in 2002. The new intersectoral agreement thus reinforces the wage moderation that had started in previous years.

For the government, the agreement anticipates a climate of industrial peace and trouble-free collective bargaining, and is a sign which will give confidence to the financial markets. All these effects will be much appreciated in the light of the introduction of the euro and the Spanish Presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2002. It is therefore not surprising that, as a result of this agreement, the government has shelved its projected reform of collective bargaining.

For UGT and CC.OO, the conclusion of the agreement is a stimulus for: combining quantitative and qualitative improvements in employment; price stability; and the competitiveness of companies. It is also a source of confidence for workers, employers and society as a whole. The employers' organisations are pleased with the agreed wage moderation and with the calmer climate that may accompany collective bargaining in 2002. (Ramon Alos, QUIT-UAB).