Brussels, 02/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) has just published a study, “Wages and Wage Bargaining in Europe - developments since the mid-1990s”.
The main conclusion drawn by the authors - Maarten Keune and Béla Galgóczi, senior reserchers at ETUI - is that wage moderation has become the norm in collective bargaining in Europe. This is the result of pressure on wage growth from a series of factors, including a global ideological shift towards neoliberal and monetarist ideas, global and European economic integration and the weakened position of trade unions in a number of European countries. This means, ETUI says, that real wages have failed to keep pace with actual growth in Europe, making low pay and working poverty serious concerns. Between 1995 and 2007, wage share as a proportion of GDP within the EU27 declined from 59.5% to 56.9%. Over the same period, wages plus employers' social contributions grew by 13.9%, while productivity increased by 20.3%. The minimum wage has risen up the agenda as an instrument to counter these trends.
The authors say that Europe has also seen an increase in the decentralisation of collective bargaining and sometimes a decline in its coverage. This decentralisation is often organised, that is, it takes place within the framework of sectorally-defined rules and standards. However, in some cases, mainly in Germany, it is increasingly disorganised. Decentralisation of collective bargaining also goes hand in hand with elements of (re-)centralisation in a number of cases.
The report (ISBN: 978-2-87452-120-I) is available in English from ETUI at a cost of €25. Web site: http://www.etui.org/research Tel: +32 2 224 04 70. Fax: +32 2 224 05 02. Email: kvergeyl@etui.org (G.B./transl.rt)