Transcript Document

Work Programme
Collective Bargaining
& Social Policy
Introduction
Anna-Lena Börgö Etaat
Bart Samyn
INTRODUCTION
• Collective Bargaining is Trade Union Core Business
 Defending trade union autonomy
 Fighting attacks on our strengths and solidarity
 Fighting attacks on our Collective Bargaining systems
 Fighting the effects of the crisis and neo-liberal policies
• NEED FOR:
 Strong national trade unions
 Strong industriAll Europe
 Strong European-wide coordinated collective bargaining
INTRODUCTION 2
• Aim is to improve working and living conditions
 Centred on an active & coordinated wage policy
 Using all possible tools
•NEED FOR:
 Increased coverage rate of collective agreements
 NO social and wage competition
 Job and employment security
 Decent work & fair wages
 Visibility of our policies
WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS
1. WAGE COORDINATION RULE
 High priority for the new organisation
 Unified position paper
 Improved and stronger cooperation with ETUC
2. WORKING TIME
 Revision of Working Time Directive
 Coverage rate of Working Time Directive
 Revision of our own guidelines on working time
 Special attention to increased flexibilisation
WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 2
3. WORK LIFE BALANCE
Increased demands on availability from
employers
 Need for good working time regulations
 Need for protection
 Need for career breaks and periods of leave
Effect of unpaid domestic work on labour
market availability, income and even level of
pensions, especially for women
WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 3
4. EUCOB@N
 Hugely important tool for our CB strategy
 Evaluated and improved
 Increase participation rate
 More emphasis on forecasts
Importance of day-to-day information on CB
rounds (more than just results), strikes, labour
market issues, labour/social legislation or
changes ...
WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 4
5. EUCOB@N WEBSITE
 Design has to reflect new organisation
 Discussion on how to organise website
6. REGIONAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NETWORKS
See how to extend and improve existing
networks
See how to involve other sectors (for the
moment limited to metal)
COMMON DEMANDS
1. PRECARIOUS EMPLOYMENT CD
 Exists in all three founding organisations
 Need to harmonise the position
 Discuss how to organise the campaign and
different timings
2. TRAINING CD
 Exists in 2 of the 3 founding organisations
 Need for continued evaluation and follow-up
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES
 Changes in the composition of the workforce
from young > to much older
Debate on pension age and working longer
Link to working conditions, incentives
Competences ( and transfer of competences)
Access to training for ALL categories of workers
including training to access the labour market
PRECARIOUS WORK
 Huge increase in all forms of precarious work
 Slowed during crisis, but re-emerging even
stronger (abuse of crisis situation)
 Erosion of normal working and living conditions,
especially for migrant, women and young
workers
 Need to reduce low wage sectors in Europe,
e.g. Minimum wages (following national
practices)
PRECARIOUS WORK 2
• Enormous amount of different forms of precarious
work
Different contract forms (best known and most
widespread: temporary agency work) = flexibility of
contracts
Flexibility of working time
Non-solicitation agreements (difficulty for changing jobs)
Lack of representation (TU) or access to social security,
training, ...
 Bogus self employment
 Job security
EUROPEAN TRANSNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
• European level negotiations for multinational
companies are important
 Importance of including the trade unions
 Importance of the mandate procedure (as accepted by
the Founding Congress)
 Logical need for an optional legal framework for such
agreements
• Commission initiative without direct outlook for result
• Commission initiative on restructuring
 Need for a European right to strike
SOCIAL POLICY ISSUES
• IMPORTANT LINK (national as well as European)
between collective bargaining rounds and
social/labour legislation
• Important to have quick and good overview of EU
initiatives, which for the time being are:
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working time
flexicurity
pensions
health & safety
posting directive
whistle blowing