In 2005, the agreement on collective bargaining (/Acuerdo de Negociación Colectiva/, ANC 2005) set out the framework for negotiations between trade unions and employers for the fourth consecutive year (*ES0503204F* [1]). These ANC agreements have played a major role in keeping inflation rate down since the introduction of the euro in 2002. In January 2006, the employers – the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organisations (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE [2]) and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Confederación Española de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa, CEPYME [3]) – and the most representative trade unions – the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO [4]) and the General Workers’ Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT [5]) – agreed to extend the 2005 ANC to this year (*ES0602101N* [6]). The agreement promotes competitiveness in the Spanish economy, introduces a wage moderation policy that supports inflation control, fosters productive investments and favours stable and safe employment.[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/intersectoral-bargaining-framework-agreed-for-2005[2] http://www.ceoe.es/[3] http://www.cepyme.es/[4] http://www.ccoo.es/[5] http://www.ugt.es/[6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/renewal-of-the-agreement-on-collective-bargaining-in-2006
In 2005, there was an increase in the amount of collective agreements and in the number of workers covered in Spain. In addition, collective agreements covered more new companies, and a tendency towards decentralised collective bargaining was observed. Employment levels also rose over the year.
In 2005, the agreement on collective bargaining (Acuerdo de Negociación Colectiva, ANC 2005) set out the framework for negotiations between trade unions and employers for the fourth consecutive year (ES0503204F). These ANC agreements have played a major role in keeping inflation rate down since the introduction of the euro in 2002. In January 2006, the employers – 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 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) – agreed to extend the 2005 ANC to this year (ES0602101N). The agreement promotes competitiveness in the Spanish economy, introduces a wage moderation policy that supports inflation control, fosters productive investments and favours stable and safe employment.
Moreover, the 2005 ANC contained clauses on job maintenance and creation, lifelong learning, the improvement of qualifications, equal treatment and opportunities, and changing attitudes towards health and safety. The ANC agreements aim to meet the strategic objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.
In 2005, collective bargaining was carried out in a favourable economic climate due to growth in gross domestic product (GDP), which was again above the European average. This resulted in increased employment opportunities and a fall in unemployment figures. However, some imbalances still persisted, such as a high inflation rate of 4.2%, the decreased competitiveness of Spanish exports, the low productivity of work and the high temporary employment rate (ES0602105F).
Collective bargaining structure
The number of collective agreements has grown significantly, from 3,763 in 1997 to 4,167 in 2005. This increase is related to a growing number of new companies boosting the volume of employment, as well as a rising number of agreements at sectoral level. As a result, a higher proportion of workers are covered by these agreements.
| Agreements | Companies | Workers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Number | Variation % | Number | Variation % | Number | Variation % |
| 1997 | 3,763 | 6.0 | 847.5 | 11 | 7,226.8 | 18.1 |
| 1998 | 3,776 | 0.3 | 814.2 | -3.9 | 6,972.2 | -3.5 |
| 1999 | 3,874 | 2.6 | 894.8 | 9.9 | 7,782.8 | 11.6 |
| 2000 | 3,945 | 1.8 | 977.3 | 9.2 | 7,862.8 | 1.0 |
| 2001 | 4,021 | 1.9 | 895.1 | -8.4 | 7,605.9 | -3.3 |
| 2002 | 4,217 | 4.9 | 924.2 | 3.3 | 7,808.0 | 2.7 |
| 2003 | 4,364 | 3.5 | 1,057.3 | 14.4 | 8,147.2 | 4.3 |
| 2004 | 4,182 | -4.2 | 902.5 | -14.6 | 7,800.6 | -4.3 |
| 2005 | 4,167 | -0.4 | 066.6 | 7.1 | 8,380.9 | 7.4 |
Source: Derived from statistics on collective agreements, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, MTAS)
In 2005, collective agreements at sectoral and provincial level represented 21% of the total collective agreements and covered 55% of workers, whereas national collective agreements amounted to 1.5% of the total agreements and covered 27.4% of workers. At the same time, company-level agreements corresponded to 75% of the total agreements, but covered only 10% of workers.
Content of collective agreements
The average agreed pay increase was 3.07% in addition to the productivity supplement, which is higher than the official inflation target of 2%. Wage revision clauses were included in 36.7% of the collective agreements and covered 69% of the workers. Of these clauses, some 34.5% allowed for payments to be backdated.
Moreover, the average annual agreed working time was 1,751 hours in 2005. This figure is slightly lower than that of the previous year, which amounted to 1,758 hours. A reduction in the annual working time was agreed in 15% of the collective agreements. A large number of agreements included an increase in holidays, paid leave and extra days off.
Equal opportunities clauses were included in 12.8% of the agreements, which could be broken down into 64% in national agreements and 36% in sectoral agreements. The advantage of centralised collective agreements is that they improve the dissemination of the equality objectives, whereas decentralised agreements tend to lead to a more dispersed content.
The measures related to work–life balance progressed slowly. The clauses on leave entitlement tended to introduce more flexibility, such as:
the accumulation of time off for breastfeeding;
less minimum requirements for time off for dependent care;
flexible holiday periods compatible with maternity leave;
discontinuous use of leave for serious illness and hospitalisation.
Other new features included an increase in the legal number of hours or days of leave and the introduction of leave for cases that are not provided for by law.
In all, some 152 new collective agreements were concluded during 2005, of which 141 were company-level agreements. Many of these company-level agreements are not linked to agreements at higher levels, and thus reveal a trend towards decentralised collective bargaining.
Antonio Martín Artiles, QUIT, University Autònoma of Barcelona, (UAB)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2006), Increase in collective bargaining during 2005, article.
