Industrial relations in the specialised retail sector

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Specialised retail outlets represent a highly diverse and feminised sector characterised by low pay and unsocial working hours. Although the sector employs a large number of workers, they are poorly represented by collective bargaining and trade union representation is very low.

Current profile of the sector

As with the retail sector in general (TN0407101S), the specialised retailed outlet sector is highly diverse and collective bargaining in this sector is widely dispersed. It includes the following activities:

• textiles (NACE 5241);
• clothing (NACE 5242);
• footwear and leather goods (NACE 5243);
• furniture, lighting and other articles for the home (NACE 5244);
• electrical appliances, radios, televisions and audio equipment (NACE 5245);
• ironmongery, paint and glassware (NACE 5246);
• books, newspapers and stationery (NACE 5247);
• other specialised retail outlets (NACE 5248).

In recent years, this sector has grown spectacularly in Spain. However, future growth is expected to be moderate, and some analysts even think that there may shortly be a decrease in the number of companies in this subsector, accompanied by a consolidation, concentration and growth in the size of the companies (see the sectoral study, El comercio al detalle de artículos nuevos en establecimientos especializados. Fundación Tripartita para la Formación en el Empleo. Collección sectores, 2005). It is anticipated that there will be an increase particularly in the number of companies running chains and franchises, and that large stores will maintain their market share, but that the number of small, independent shops will fall.

Currently, a large number of microcompanies run small shops, while a small number of large companies maintain great market power. Between 1997 and 2003, the number of companies in the sector more than quadrupled.

Source: 1997 Survey of Retailing (Encuesta del comercio al por menor 1997) and 2003 Annual Survey of Retailing (Encuesta Anual de Comercio 2003); National Institute of Statistics ( Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE)

According to the figures for 2003, the general retailing sector employs 1,765,600 persons. The subsector of specialised establishments employs 739,678 people. Employed persons represent 66.2% of the total, which is a lower figure than for the rest of the economy, suggesting that self-employment in microcompanies is a relevant phenomenon. The subsector represented 4.29% of occupied persons and 27.59% of the general retail sector in Spain in 2003. The most important group in this sector is the 'other retail outlets' subsector, followed by furniture or textile shops. However, clothing shops employ the highest number of workers.

Source: 2003 Annual Survey of Retailing (Encuesta Anual de Comercio 2003)

The specialised retail outlet sector is female dominated, particularly in sales and customer services and in textiles and clothing outlets. The only exceptions in this respect are in the furniture, electrical appliances, and ironmongery, paints and glassware retail outlets. Altogether, women represent 51.31% of the occupied persons, and 58.62% of the wage-earners in the specialised retail outlet sector. However, except in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods, and to some extent in books, newspapers and stationery, the majority of employers are men. In short, women hold subordinate positions in this feminised sector.

At 26.02%, the temporary employment rate in the sector is considerably lower than the national average of about 33%, although female temporary employment is higher than that of males in all the subsectors.

Source: Compiled by the author based on the 2003 Annual Survey of Retailing

There is a high percentage of self-employment in the textiles retail outlets and in books, newspapers and stationery, coinciding with the relatively high number of feminised microcompanies in these areas. The level of productivity is higher in the clothing sector.

The average wage earned in these subsectors is very low, at between EUR 11,211 per year in the textiles subsector and EUR 14,043 per year in ironmongery, paint and glassware subsector. Women make up the main workforce in the worst-paid subsectors.

Source: 2003 Annual Survey of Retailing

Collective bargaining

The most representative trade unions of the subsector, UGT-FCHTJ and FECOHT-CCOO, have a low presence. As there is no specific employer association, many companies adhere to agreements of larger sectors, in which the big companies negotiate with the trade unions.

The employer associations of the sector are the Spanish Retailing Federation (Confederación Española de Comercio, CEC), which belongs to the Spanish Federation of Employers’ Organisations (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE), and the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres (Asociación Española de Centros Comerciales) (small shops within shopping centres), which represents small retail outlets. In the Community of Madrid, the Federation of Self-Employed Retail Traders (Confederación de Empresarios de Comercio Minorista y Autónomo, Cecoma) represents small shopkeepers.

The sector studied here corresponds to CNAE 52.4. The collective agreements that affect the subsectors included in this analysis are:

In relation to personal outfitting, collective agreements for:

• textile retailing;
• leather;
• opticians;
• general retailing.

In relation to domestic goods, collective agreements for:

• metal;
• furniture;
• construction;
• chemical products, glass and ceramics;
• household goods.

In relation to culture and leisure, collective agreements for:

• paper and graphic arts;
• toys;
• flowers and plants;
• other sectors without their own agreement.

Although some national and regional collective agreements exist, the majority are at the provincial level. They tend to cover a period of one to three years.

The issues that are considered most problematic in relation to this sector are temporary employment and opening times. The liberalisation of working hours and opening hours in 2005 was introduced through Law 1/2004 of 21 December, on Commercial Working Hours (Ley 1/2004 de 21 de Diciembre de Horarios Comerciales), which increased the number of Sundays and public holidays on which shops can open to at least 12 days per year. This new provision has proved particularly detrimental to the workers and small employers. However, the effects may vary because each autonomous community can increase the number of days. Other regulations that may affect the sector are those concerning the environment (based on the idea that 'polluters pay', particularly with regard to waste management) and those relating to product guarantees.

Commentary

Although the specialised retail sector employs a large number of workers, they are poorly represented by collective bargaining because trade union representation is very low. Furthermore, trade unions often have to fight to prevent company agreements from reducing their presence - something which is illegal but which sometimes occurs. Trade union representation is not guaranteed in companies with fewer than six workers and is limited in companies with fewer than 10 workers, so direct worker participation in collective bargaining is impossible in a sector with so many microcompanies. Only limited by the general legislation and the general collective agreements, each company determines the working conditions, so the workers do not enjoy the same representation of their specific rights as in larger companies. The use of part-time employment and some practices of 'family assistance' are sometimes abusive and illegal. Many workers do not have stable wages, and working at weekends and on public holidays makes it difficult for them to balance their work and personal life. (Daniel Albarracín, CIREM Foundation)