The European Framework Agreements are agreements between the European social partners, whether at intersectoral or intersectoral level. In the event of a change of service provider, Member States must ensure that airside service staff are transferred to the new service provider and that collective agreements are respected. The Commission has set up a database of transnational company agreements containing factsheets detailing each company and agreement. The Commission notes that transnational company agreements have become increasingly important over the last ten years since the first initiatives in 2000. At the beginning of 2012, 224 such agreements had been registered in 144 companies, mainly based in Europe, for more than 10 million employees. At the national level, collective agreements are agreements between individual employers or their organizations, on the one hand, and workers` organizations such as trade unions, on the other. These agreements define the content of individual employment contracts and govern the relationship between the parties. European collective agreements, the result of the European social dialogue, take different forms at different levels: officially, the company is subject to a collective agreement which provides for the establishment of contractual working hours on average for a maximum period of twelve months. European sectoral agreements are concluded between the social partners, organised on a sectoral basis at European level through sectoral social dialogue committees.
Examples of sectoral agreements are agreements on the organisation of working time concluded in various sectors of the transport sector. For example, in 2008, an agreement on working conditions in maritime transport incorporated certain provisions of the 2006 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention into EU law. Cross-sectoral framework agreements are based on Article 155(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It states that dialogue between the European social partners “can lead to contractual relations, including agreements”. The cross-sectoral social dialogue is led by the social partners at EU level (ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, CEEP, European Federation of Crafts, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) and Eurocadres (Council of European Specialists and Managers) as well as by the European Association of Managers and Managers (EQF). The CEC participates in the dialogue within the ETUC delegation. Only one in three OECD workers has a wage agreed by collective bargaining. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, with its 36 members, has become a strong advocate for collective bargaining to ensure that falling unemployment also leads to higher wages.
[17] See also: Agreement on Social Policy; collective bargaining; competition law and collective agreements; EU industrial relations system; European social dialogue and the implementation of agreements; European social model; Horizontal subsidiarity; International Framework Agreement; Social dialogue. In addition, cross-sectoral agreements are negotiated and signed by the European social partners, representing several sectors. This includes, for example, the intersectoral agreement on the protection of workers` health through the proper handling and use of crystalline silicon dioxide and products containing it. . an agreement containing reciprocal obligations, the scope of which extends to the territory of several States and which has been concluded by one or more representatives of an undertaking or group of undertakings, on the one hand, and of one or more workers` organisations, on the other, and which governs working conditions and/or relations between employers and workers or their representatives. This dialogue may lead to a framework agreement, which is then legally reinforced by a directive in accordance with Article 155(2) TFEU. Examples of these types of agreements are parental leave agreements in 1995 and revised in 2009, part-time work in 1997 and temporary work in 1999. However, the dialogue between those social partners may also lead to an autonomous agreement which is not covered by the procedures laid down in Article 155 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Examples of these types of agreements are the agreements on telework in 2002, stress at work in 2004 and harassment and violence in the workplace in 2007.
In Sweden, the scope of collective agreements is very high, although there is no legal mechanism to extend agreements to entire industries. In 2018, 83% of all private sector employees were covered by collective agreements, 100% of public sector employees and a total of 90% (based on the entire labour market). [10] This reflects the predominance of self-regulation (regulation by the labour market parties themselves) over state regulation in Swedish industrial relations. [11] At a public hearing on April 17, Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance on collective bargaining for public sector employees. The power for Virginia municipalities to bargain collectively was made possible by the state`s new legislature, which went into effect on May 1. Alexandria is the first place in Virginia to approve collective bargaining under the state`s new law. In Alexandria and 18 other locations in Virginia, there was collective bargaining for public servants until the courts ruled in 1977 that state law did not explicitly allow municipalities to engage in collective bargaining. The new municipal law allows unions or associations representing municipal workers to enter into a collective agreement with the city on matters relating to workers and their employment, and provides guidance for the process. In collaboration with our research team, you will carry out qualitative research in Sweden (interviews with experts, representatives of public employers and trade unions), analyse documents (e.B. collective agreements) and participate in the preparation and interpretation of data, the preparation of a country case study and the final report. Swedish unions would also have preferred implementation through collective agreements rather than laws, but this did not happen. In 24 U.S.
states,[13] workers working in a unionized company may be asked to pay compensation (e.B. during disciplinary hearings) if their colleagues have negotiated a union security clause in their contract with management. Contributions are usually 1 to 2% of salary. However, union members and other workers covered by collective agreements receive, on average, a wage premium of 5 to 10% compared to their non-unionized (or unlicensed) colleagues. [9] Some states, particularly in the south-central and southeastern regions of the United States, have banned union security clauses; This can be controversial because it allows some net beneficiaries of the collective agreement to avoid paying their share of the costs of contract negotiations. Regardless of the state, the Supreme Court has ruled that the law prevents a person`s union dues from being used without consent to fund political concerns that may be contrary to the individual`s personal policies. Instead, in states where union security clauses are allowed, these dissidents may choose to pay only the portion of dues that goes directly to workers` representation. [14] In 1931, the Supreme Court in Texas & N.O.R.
Co. v. Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, confirmed the legal prohibition on the employer interfering in the selection of collective bargaining representatives. [15] In 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order granting public sector unions the right to bargain collectively with federal agencies. [15] Both Belgian and Italian legislation are based on views expressed jointly by the social partners, while collective agreements play the main role in implementation in Denmark (as is traditionally the case), although complementary legislation is not subject to collective agreements. In the second group of seven countries – Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden – there is no national minimum wage, but sectoral collective agreements implicitly or explicitly set minimum wage rates for workers in their coverage. The right to collective bargaining with an employer enhances the human dignity, freedom and autonomy of workers by giving them the opportunity to influence the establishment of workplace rules and thus gain control over an important aspect of their lives, namely their work. Collective bargaining is not only a tool for pursuing external objectives. on the contrary, [it] is inherently valuable to have self-government experience.
Collective bargaining enables workers to achieve a form of democracy in the workplace and to ensure the rule of law in the workplace. Workers have a voice in influencing the establishment of rules that control an important aspect of their lives. [8] European Works Council (EWC) agreements are the third type of collective agreement. .