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With the adoption of the European minimum wage directive in 2022, all European countries are obliged to promote collective bargaining. On 23-24 September, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will organise a workshop on collective bargaining in Istanbul as part of its Stand Up for Journalism (SUJ) project. The agenda of the workshop is availablehere.

The European Union decided in 2022 to impose on its Member States a goal of 80% of collective bargaining coverage. The issue is that many of these countries still have a long way to go before they reach that percentage. For those who do not reach this threshold, the EU requires them to encourage collective bargaining through national action plans to be decided by the end of 2025.

This was preceded by two years (2022-2024) of research and analysis on how to best promote collective bargaining through policy.UNI Europa, the European trade union federation in the services sectors, gathered 20 experts from all over Europe to discuss this challenge. The result is a report divided into five chapters and 20 annexes about 20 different countries. The report aims at considering how public policy can create an environment that would favour collective bargaining, in the perspective of more efficient change in working conditions.

The report begins by emphasising that the most effective form of collective bargaining is multi-employer bargaining, which involves multiple companies and therefore leads to more change. Its first two parts describe how each collective agreement actors, trade unions, and employers, can better organise to negotiate.

The promotion of trade union membership  

The experts suggested multiple ways to achieve this, including the creation of industrial unions that encompass every sector. One of the most important tasks is to act on potential obstacles that could dissuade workers from joining unions, such as the effect on their careers and potential intimidation by employers. On the other hand, employers should also be given room to organise their bargaining. The report lists three criteria to act upon: the employer must be willing, able, and organised. Like with trade unions, experts found numerous policy ideas: implementing compulsory membership or using national and European funds to create sectoral unions.

Mediation and political pressure

The report provides insights on how legislators can make collective bargaining easier for all actors, through tools like mediation and political incentives. It also highlights the role of the right to strike as a form of bargaining,as well as the requirement that both parties to a deal genuinely want an agreement. What is essential is to make this outcome desirable to the parties, and that requires their effects to be large and widely known. To achieve this, European experts suggest a large range of tools such as public procurement or labour courts.

The importance of fostering a culture of collective bargaining

Successful agreements are much more easily done if they are discussed in a favourable environment. To develop this culture, experts proposed monitoring the bargainings and agreements, implementing them in education (in schools, but also other educating structures, such as employment offices), and even creating awards for collective bargaining.

As reported by UNI, “this report aims to be a discussion starter, a starting point for trade unions and policymakers considering positive collective bargaining measures to find inspiration, which they can then translate into the most effective policies at the national level.”

EFJ Collective Bargaining Workshop in Istanbul

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will organise a workshop on collective bargaining in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23-24 September as part of its Stand Up for Journalism (SUJ) project. Among the topics, the workshop will address the different challenges around collective bargaining, including the evolving media landscape in the digital age.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to collective bargaining. Each country is different and will need to adapt its policy to its current labour system and environment. However, collective bargaining is key to empowering the workforce and ensuring a healthy working environment where fundamental rights are respected and protected,” declared Maja Sever, President of the European Federation of Journalists and of the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (TUCJ).