22/08/2014

The issue of collective bargaining has been at the heart of IER’s work for the past two years. In a report entitled Reconstruction after the Crisis: a manifesto for collective bargaining by Keith Ewing and John Hendy, the nature of the systematic European attack on collective bargaining was noted by the authors.
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In a chapter highlighting the past traditions and current problems of collective bargaining systems across Europe, the authors noted: “The Troika sees radical decentralisation as the blueprint for reconstructing collective bargaining systems in Europe”

They went on to identify four component parts of this Troika’s strategy as:

1. Termination of collective agreements.
2. Extension of the scope for enterprises to opt out of industry level agreements
3. Reducing the scope for extending national agreements to non-signatory employers
4. Expanding the ability of non-union organisations to conclude workplace collective agreements

The blog article by George Harissis on developments in Greece reinforces the arguments set out by John Hendy and Keith Ewing and provides a living example of the impact of the Troika’s strategy.
The question is, when will this systematic attack on collective bargaining and trade union activity be effective challenged?