Collective Bargaining Developments in Times of Crisis

Collective Bargaining Developments in Times of Crisis discusses the evolution of collective bargaining systems (structure and content) since 2008 with a comparative perspective. In many EU Member States, the various economic crises of recent years provided grounds for a rarely equalled level of state intervention in the regulation of labour relations with an explicit aim: the decentralization of collective bargaining. An extensive body of research – summed up and analysed expertly in the chapters of this very important book – reveals that the process of decentralization has more often than not led to a situation where salaries and labour conditions are evermore frequently determined by direct negotiations between employer and employees, with the State becoming the sole guarantor of employee protection even as it encourages decreasing labour costs to ensure that companies remain competitive.

What’s in this book:

The comparative approach offered in this book adds to the above-mentioned synthesis by providing examples of specific recent developments in fourteen Member States and Turkey. Among the numerous topics and issues that arise are the following:

• 'opt-out’ clauses that derogate unfavourably from sectoral agreement standard extension of the employer’s unilateral decision-making power;
• extension of the employer’s unilateral decision-making power;
• ‘memoranda of understanding’ imposed by the ‘troika’ (EU, ECB, and IMF); and
• ‘standby arrangements’ imposed by the IMF.

However, notwithstanding the strong emphasis on changing the structure of collective agreements by shifting the centre of gravity closer to the company, the research provided by this book finds promise in the reconstituted support for sector-level agreements increasingly present among small businesses, networked businesses, and work via digital platforms.

How this will help you:

This book aids readers to understand why sectoral collective bargaining is still an important aspect of labour regulations. Further, this book helps to gain insight into how the national legislations approach the crises that have affected collective bargaining and how the decentralization of collective bargaining occurs in the various countries. As the first book to take stock of the current state of collective bargaining in Europe, this book is an essential study for labour and employment law practitioners, and an exemplary analysis of immeasurable value to policymakers and academics in the field.