Number of collective agreements falls

Cristovam, Maria Luisa

Overview

Article

Number of collective agreements falls

Published: 20 August 2002

Official statistics on collective bargaining and industrial action in Portugal in the first half of 2002, published in August 2002, show that there was a steep fall in the number of agreements concluded, and that the number of strikes rose. The number of company-level agreements declined particularly sharply. Meanwhile, the government has announced changes to the legislation regulating bargaining.

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Official statistics on collective bargaining and industrial action in Portugal in the first half of 2002, published in August 2002, show that there was a steep fall in the number of agreements concluded, and that the number of strikes rose. The number of company-level agreements declined particularly sharply. Meanwhile, the government has announced changes to the legislation regulating bargaining.

In August 2002, the Directorate-General for Working Conditions (Direcção Geral das Condições de Trabalho, DGCT) and the Institute for the Development and Inspection of Working Conditions (Instituto para o Desenvolvimento e Inspecção das Condições de Trabalho, IDICT) at the Ministry of Labour and Solidarity published statistics on collective bargaining and industrial action in the first half of 2002.

Collective bargaining

According to the DGCT figures, there was a fall of about a quarter (24.4%) between the first half of 2001 and 2002 in the number of collective agreements registered and published - see table 1 below. The fall was steeper for company-level and multi-employer agreements (down 29.4%) than for sectoral agreements (21.4%) (multi-employer agreements cover more than one firm, but are not negotiated by an employers' association). The sector remains the main bargaining level.

**Table 1. Collective agreements registered in the first half of 2001 and of 2002**
.	First half 2002	First half 2001
Sectoral agreements	99	126
Company-level and multi-employer agreements	53	75
Total	152	201

Source: DGCT report on development in collective bargaining, first and second quarters 2002.

The DGCT statistics also indicate that:

the proportion of wholly new agreements and agreements that fully revise earlier agreements (and not just their pay provisions) was particularly high in the first half of 2002. Of all agreements registered, 5.9% were new, compared with an average of 4.7% over the previous three years. In addition, 13.1% of agreements were fully revised, compared with an average of 8.5% over the previous three years;
the average pay increase laid down in the agreements was 4.0% in the first quarter of 2002 and 3.7% in the second quarter. However, in real terms, agreed pay fell by 0.6% in the second quarter (with only the health and social work sector not experiencing a real fall);
manufacturing industry is still the sector in which there are most agreements, accounting for 51.9% of the total. The wholesale and retail trade accounted for 14.5%, transport and communications for 9.8%, and community, social and cultural services for 9.8%;
in 71.4% of cases, the agreements had last been revised, at least in part, about a year previously, although a significant number of agreements had not been previously been renegotiated for several years;
all agreements negotiated in the first half of 2002 dealt with pay issues, with the most significant topics being wage scales, meal subsidies, multiskilling payments, geographical mobility bonuses and length-of-service increments;
the most significant non-pay-related subjects negotiated - see table 2 below - were job descriptions (featuring in 28.57% of agreements in the second quarter and 15.15% in the first), careers, increased annual leave (to 25 working days), and adaptation of agreed provisions to the working time legislation. Only for private-sector health and nursing staff was a reduction in working time agreed, from 38 hours a week to 36 hours for nurses and to 35 hours for doctors; and
compared with a few years ago, the geographical scope of agreements is showing signs of decentralisation, with 38.2% (in the first quarter of 2002) and 44% (in the second quarter) of agreements signed having national scope, lower figures than in previous years.

**Table 2. Main non-pay issues dealt with in agreements registered in the first half of 2002 (% of all agreements)**
.	First quarter 2002	Second quarter 2002
Careers	18.18%	17.46%
Job descriptions	15.15%	28.57%
Annual leave	15.15%	11.11%
Length of working week	9.09%	1.59%
Training	3.03%	4.76%

Source: DGCT.

Industrial action in the first half of 2002

According to the IDICT figures, in the first six months of 2002, the number of strikes (198) rose by about 9.4% compared with the same period in 2001 (181). Compared with 2001, there was an increase in the proportion of strikes covering an entire sector, and a fall in the proportion of strikes occurring in the public sector (which traditionally has a high level of strike action) - see table 3 below.

**Table 3. Scope of strikes held in the first half of 2001 and of 2002, provisional figures (% of all strikes)**
Scope	First half 2002	First half 2001
Single company	75.1	68.6
Sectoral	13.6	6.6
Public sector	11.3	24.8

Source: IDICT.

Commentary

The sharp fall in the number of collective agreements signed in the first half of 2002 may be a result of Portugal's current economic difficulties (PT0205101N), which make it difficult to negotiate improved pay and conditions without seeking new approaches to bargaining. The increase in the number of 'new' agreements, is attributable to: attempts by recently created trade union organisations to gain support from workers by negotiating 'parallel agreements' alongside those concluded by existing unions; and bargaining in new companies created from former public corporations with a tradition of collective bargaining.

According to negotiators themselves, the fall in the number of agreements may be attributable to the expectations raised - especially amongst employers - by the recent election of the new coalition government of the centre-right Social Democrat Party (Partido Social Democrata PPD/PSD) and right-wing People's Party (Partido Popular, CDS/PP), and the previously announced proposals for changes in collective bargaining rules, which have now been presented in the draft text of a new Labour Code (PT0208101N). One of the most keenly awaited changes is the proposed introduction of a time limit for the expiry of collective agreements. Currently, agreements can remain in partial force for decades if unions regard some of their clauses as favourable to employees. According to employers, this seriously affects the balance of power in negotiations, and blocks innovation in bargaining, especially at company level. (Maria Luisa Cristovam, UAL)

Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.

Eurofound (2002), Number of collective agreements falls, article.