EFFAT-ETUI Collective Bargaining Workshop 2012

1. EFFAT-ETUI Collective Bargaining Workshop 2012 “Negotiating at Times of Crisis in the EFFAT Sectors” WORKSHOP CONCLUSIONS 25-27 January 2012 ITC-ILO

2. CRISIS ANALYSIS: CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRISIS FOR STATES • High public debt • deterioration of financial rating (payback guarantee) • higherinterest rates to service public debt • consequent difficulties to raise funds in the international bond markets • declining Euro exchange rate and increasing interest rates to finance public debt • higheconomicuncertainty slows down consumption and production • Less tax revenues • Due to high unemployment, surge in the black market economy, more tax evasion and ‘migration’, less company profits • Less resources for subsidies and incentive programmes • Credit crunch • banks reluctant to give credits to individuals and SMEs • Higher interest rates on variable rate loans • Growthslump • Political shift to the right in Governments and Parliaments

3. CRISIS ANALYSIS: GOVERNMENT MEASURES • Labour law reforms, often introduced by law (non-negotiated) • decentralization of collective bargaining / ‘opt out’ opportunity to waive CBAs at a company and individual level • wage competition / longer working week • increase flexibility / weaken job protection systems • reform of public pension schemes / increase of retirement age • less protection from dismissals • reform of unemployment compensation scheme (lesser amounts / shorter duration) • Austerity packages / ‘internal devaluation’ • reform of public health care schemes • tax pressure / TVA increases • pay cuts • push towards productivity • curtailing of benefits and layoff of public sector workers • Liberalization packages • Higher internal and external competition (trade) • Privatization • Sale of public assets • Cuts in public services

4. CRISIS ANALYSIS: CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRISIS FOR COMPANIES • Demand crunch • Fall of internal consumption and sales • Fall of exports to other EU countries hit by crisis • Credit crunch, hard to get loans, hard to make investments, higher interest rates on variable rate loans • Higher costs because of lower Euro currency exchange (i.e. raw materials, energy, imported machinery) • Less government subsidies and incentive programmes • Temporary halt of production • Delocalization to other countries • Permanent closure, bankruptcy

5. CRISIS ANALYSIS: EMPLOYER MEASURES • Unilaterally disregard/flexibility on collective agreements • Cost-cutting • Higher productivity & new organization of work • Collective restructuring • Increased pressure on workers for higher performance • Some take advantage of the crisis to push through their agendas on competitiveness, restructuring and wage cuts • Longer probation periods, more traineeships with lower pay • International benchmarking of plant performance • Withdrawal from negotiations with unions • Outsourcing • Delocalization • Sale of operations / plants / departments • Closures, non-payment of wages and creditors, bankruptcy

6. CRISIS ANALYSIS: MAIN OBSTACLES AND CHALLENGES FOR UNIONS IN THE CRISIS • Worker fear to loose their job and conditions • Competitiveness and uncertainty become the key words dominating negotiations • Employers engage less in negotiations • Shorter duration of CBAs due to uncertainty • Push to decentralize collective bargaining and push it to the company level • Voluntary approach to implementation of CBAs • Negative media very hostile to unions • Worker and societal individualist approach • Union individualistic approach at an international level

7. WORKSHOP 1 CONCLUSIONS UNION PRIORITIES /1 • Defend minimum wage and national & sectoral bargaining • Fight precarious work and push the 10 EFFAT Recommendations high on the CB agenda – reducing precarious work strenghtens CB • Solidarity between stronger sectors and weaker sectors and companies to overcome fear and low membership • Key to engage and organizing migrant workers to fight social dumping and halt undermining of minimum standards • Include in CB negotiations quantitative limits to outsourcing and temporary work (i.e. 10% etc.) – use limits to outsourcing and casual labour also at a company level (i.e. in EWCs) • Strategic research and in-depth analysis on companies before getting into negotiations and organizing campaigns • Engaging with governments to include supervisions and audits for worker rights • Keep members in a state of readiness to be ready to take industrial action that unions have the option to exercise power when needed and with responsibility • Agree with union colleagues i.e. from EWC a procedure on information in case of sensitive information and on how to react in case of company reaction (i.e. sacking a representative).

8. WORKSHOP 1 CONCLUSIONS UNION PRIORITIES /2 • Educate the public opinion and young workers about the importance of unions’ fights for their future working conditions and about what unions have won for them so far (i.e. paid holiday, working time, maternity & paternity leave, minimum wage etc.) • Use social media and other forms of communication to reach out to young workers and the public opinion to offset the negative effects of conservative press positions hostile to unions that are currently dominant (ex. From the Australian unions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=184NTV2CE_c) • Activate the political leverage of unions, develop their political activities on the left to win back democracy and reverse the right-wing, ask members to engage in political activity and vote for parties favourable to unions and to the worker agenda • Get the union and worker voice heard by the EU on the social effects of the crisis and austerity measures and by the EU-IMF-WB ‘troika’ (i.e. in Ireland)

9. FACTORS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH MORE EQUITABLE SOCIAL OUTCOMES AT TIMES OF CRISIS Wide coverage and high coordination of CB Industrial relations system (high trade union density and solid Social Dialogue institutions) Public social policies, distributive fairness, low inequality levels, presence of decent minimum wages Temporary, non-structural nature of crisis

10. WHAT CAN BE DONE: CATEGORIES OF CRISIS CUSHIONING MEASURES /1 1. Compensation flexibility 2. Working Time flexibility 3. Employment security 4. Skills & retraining

11. WHAT CAN BE DONE: CATEGORIES OF CRISIS CUSHIONING MEASURES /2 5. INNOVATION, COMPETITIVENESS AND WORK ORGANIZATION 6. MATURE AND AEGING WORKERS 7. HEALTH & SAFETY

12. WHAT CAN BE DONE: CATEGORIES OF CRISIS CUSHIONING MEASURES /3 8. PUBLIC POLICIES 9. FAIRNESS, EQUITY AND EQUALITY 10. INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS

13. EXAMPLES

14. 1. COMPENSATION FLEXIBILITY MEASURES

15. 2. WORKING TIME FLEXIBILITY MEASURES

16. 3. EMPLOYMENT SECURITY MEASURES

17. 4. SKILLS, RETRAINING, LIFELONG LEARNING/1

18. 4. SKILLS, RETRAINING, LIFELONG LEARNING/2

19. 5. INNOVATION, INVESTMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

20. 5. INNOVATION, INVESTMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS AND WORK ORGANIZATION

21. 6. AGEING AND MATURE WORKERS

22. 7. HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES

23. 8. PUBLIC POLICY

24. 9. FAIRNESS, EQUITY AND EQUALITY

25. 10. International Framework Agreements

27. Faireness, equity measures