Collective Bargaining and Employment in Europe

Does collective bargaining play a role in employment in the European Union
today? The European Employment Strategy implemented in the European Union
since 1997 invites social partners in all member states to participate in the
promotion of employment at all levels. Is this the role of trade unions and
employers organisations? Do social partners in the member states negotiate
employment? Do they contribute to an objective of full employment? Do they
want to improve 'employability'? Do they, finally, negotiate and reach
agreements on such issues? Building on a in-depth study conducted by a
European-scale network of experts for the DG Employment and Social Affairs of
the European Commission, this report addresses these crucial issues. It
analyses processes of collective bargaining and agreements on employment in
the fifteen member states in 2000 and 2001. It includes national insights as
well as comparative analyses of current trends. Researchers at the Institut
des Sciences du Travail, a Department of the Catholic University of Louvain,
here produce a fourth review of recent developments observed in the field of
employment bargaining in Europe. This analysis, which has been conducted at
the request of DG Employment and Social Affairs, focuses on agreements
negotiated in the field of employment, and on the identification of the
coordination mechanisms that structure these negotiations. The study contains
15 national contributions.