Work Programme Collective Bargaining & Social Policy Introduction Anna-Lena Börgö Etaat Bart Samyn

INTRODUCTION Collective Bargaining is Trade Union Core Business  Defending trade union autonomy  Fighting attacks on our strengths and solidarity  Fighting attacks on our Collective Bargaining systems  Fighting the effects of the crisis and neo-liberal policies NEED FOR:  Strong national trade unions  Strong industriAll Europe  Strong European-wide coordinated collective bargaining

INTRODUCTION 2 Aim is to improve working and living conditions  Centred on an active & coordinated wage policy  Using all possible tools NEED FOR:  Increased coverage rate of collective agreements  NO social and wage competition  Job and employment security  Decent work & fair wages  Visibility of our policies

WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 1. WAGE COORDINATION RULE  High priority for the new organisation  Unified position paper  Improved and stronger cooperation with ETUC 2. WORKING TIME  Revision of Working Time Directive  Coverage rate of Working Time Directive  Revision of our own guidelines on working time  Special attention to increased flexibilisation

WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 2 3. WORK LIFE BALANCE  Increased demands on availability from employers  Need for good working time regulations  Need for protection  Need for career breaks and periods of leave  Effect of unpaid domestic work on labour market availability, income and even level of pensions, especially for women

WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 3 4.  Hugely important tool for our CB strategy  Evaluated and improved  Increase participation rate  More emphasis on forecasts  Importance of day-to-day information on CB rounds (more than just results), strikes, labour market issues, labour/social legislation or changes...

WAGE POLICIES & TOOLS 4 5. WEBSITE  Design has to reflect new organisation  Discussion on how to organise website 6. REGIONAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NETWORKS  See how to extend and improve existing networks  See how to involve other sectors (for the moment limited to metal)

COMMON DEMANDS 1. PRECARIOUS EMPLOYMENT CD  Exists in all three founding organisations  Need to harmonise the position  Discuss how to organise the campaign and different timings 2. TRAINING CD  Exists in 2 of the 3 founding organisations  Need for continued evaluation and follow-up

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES  Changes in the composition of the workforce from young > to much older  Debate on pension age and working longer  Link to working conditions, incentives  Competences ( and transfer of competences)  Access to training for ALL categories of workers including training to access the labour market

PRECARIOUS WORK  Huge increase in all forms of precarious work  Slowed during crisis, but re-emerging even stronger (abuse of crisis situation)  Erosion of normal working and living conditions, especially for migrant, women and young workers  Need to reduce low wage sectors in Europe, e.g. Minimum wages (following national practices)

PRECARIOUS WORK 2 Enormous amount of different forms of precarious work  Different contract forms (best known and most widespread: temporary agency work) = flexibility of contracts  Flexibility of working time  Non-solicitation agreements (difficulty for changing jobs)  Lack of representation (TU) or access to social security, training,...  Bogus self employment  Job security

EUROPEAN TRANSNATIONAL AGREEMENTS European level negotiations for multinational companies are important  Importance of including the trade unions  Importance of the mandate procedure (as accepted by the Founding Congress)  Logical need for an optional legal framework for such agreements Commission initiative without direct outlook for result Commission initiative on restructuring  Need for a European right to strike

SOCIAL POLICY ISSUES IMPORTANT LINK (national as well as European) between collective bargaining rounds and social/labour legislation Important to have quick and good overview of EU initiatives, which for the time being are:  working time  flexicurity  pensions  health & safety  posting directive  whistle blowing