By Claudio Stanzani, Managing Director of

SDA a.s.b.l. – Social Development Agency2010

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Trade Trade unionunion culture and culture and structure in structure in

EuropeEurope

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UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

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DGBUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

CGTCGT-FOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

CFDTUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNSAUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

CFTC

TUCUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

TCO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

SACO UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

Italy: politics and religion

Belgium: politics and religion / regional

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

CGILCISL

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UILUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

ABVV/FGTB

ACV/CSC

ACLVB/CGSLB

GERMANY

DGBUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

SectorSector

DGB DGB membership now stands at 8 unions, representing

nearly 9 million people

IG Bauen-Agrar-UmweltConstruction-agriculture-enviroment

IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie

Mining, Chemicals, Energy

Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft

Education and Science

IG MetallMetalworkers

DGB/2

Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten

Food, Beverages and Catering

Gewerkschaft der Polizei

Police

TRANSNET Railway Workers

Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft e. V. (ver.di)United Services Union

DGB/3

DGB 14 regional areas

UNITED KINGDOM

TUCUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

ProfessionProfession

TUC (1868)

TUC membership now stands at 58 unions, representing nearly six and a half million

people

TUC Congress

The policy making body of the TUC is the annual Congress which meets for four days each year during September. Each affiliated union can send delegates to Congress - the larger the union, the more it can send. At Congress 'motions' (resolutions for debate) are proposed and discussed. These form the basis of the TUC's work for the next year.

Congress 2009

This years Congress at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool is now over, you can view the text of the decisions and the unedited verbatim reports of the daily sessions. More information

Congress 2010 will be held from the 13th - 16th September in Manchester

TUC/2 In the Regions

The TUC has officers in eight locations in England, Wales and Scotland who service Regional Councils and the Wales TUC. The TUCs regional staff represent the TUC by supporting TUC campaigns and objectives and seeking the views of trade unions in the regions. TUC regional education officers organise a programme of accredited courses for stewards, safety representatives, pension scheme trustees and other trade union representatives.

8 regional areas:- Scotland- Yorkshire and Humberside- Northern- North West- Midlands- Wales- Southern and Eastern- South West

ITALY

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

CGIL

CISLUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

UILUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

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Debate on union unification

ITALY

• CGIL – CISL – UIL: nearly 10,5 million peoples

• Institutionalisation of relationships between employers, unions and the state: concertation

• Three levels of collective bargaining: the interprofessional or national level, the sectorial level and the company level

• High membership (+- 40%)• High level of retired people

affiliated to unions (+/- 50% of the membership)

• A high percentage of employees (90%) are covered by a collective labour agreement

SWEDEN

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UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

TCO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

SACO UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

StatusStatus

In Sweden three UNIONS

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TCO

SACO

Status: blue-collar workersMembership: 1.855.000

Unions: 18

Status: white-collar workersMembership: 1.049.000

Unions: 18

Status: professional workersMembership: 321.000

Unions: 25

FRANCE

UNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

CGT (1895)

CGT-FO (1948)

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

CFDT (1964)

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

CFTC (1919)

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNSA (1993)

polit

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CGC (1945)UNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

FRANCE

• The crisis of French trade unionism is occuring in three areas:

recruitmentrepresentationactivism

BELGIUM

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

ABVV/FGTB

ACV/CSC

ACLVB/CGSLBUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLOUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTLO

politicspolitics

religionreligion

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regionalregional

BELGIUMpragmatism and pluralism

• A model of democratic corporatism (socio-economic policy) is developed within a centralised, national consultative system

• Three levels of collective bargaining: the interprofessional or national level, the sectorial level and the company level

• High membership (+- 60%)

• A high percentage of employees (90%) are covered by a collective labour agreement (CLA)

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFTCTI

> 55 %

45 - 55 %

35 - 45 %

15 - 35 %

< 15 %

Union densityUnion density

TRADE UNIONS DENSITY IN THE EU

87,579,079,0

69,2

50,044,5

39,839,032,530,029,729,027,0

15,09,0

0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,090,0

100,0

DKFI

N S BLU

XIR

L A IGR P D UK NL E F

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COVERAGE2005

0102030405060708090

100

%

A DK D NL P S I

GEWERKSCHAFTUNION SYNDICAT

CTI

MultiCentral

CompanyEnterprise

CompanyEnterprise

CompanyEnterprise

CompanyEnterprise

CompanyEnterprise

CompanyEnterprise

IndustryBranche

IndustryBranche

IndustryBranche

BasisBasis ofof collectivecollective

bargainingbargaining

UNION SYNDICATGEWERKSCHAFT

CTIUNION SYNDICAT

GEWERKSCHAFTCTI Works CouncilWorks Council

Comité d’entrepriseComité d’entreprise BetriebsratBetriebsrat

Workplace Workplace employee employee representation representation bodybody

Workplace Workplace employee employee representation representation bodybody

Works CouncilWorks Council

BetriebsratBetriebsrat

Comité Comité d’entreprised’entreprise

Composition of body

• Employees only

• Employees and employer (and/or other management representatives)

Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus(N), Cyprus (S), Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom

Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg

CompositioComposition of bodyn of body

onlyonly

mixmix

Prescribed threshold for establishing the body

• In all firms

• from 5 employees

• from 10 employees

• from 15 employees

• from 20 employees

• from 35 employees

• from 50 employees

• from 100 employees

• from 150 employees

• no obligation: by voluntary agreement

• on request

Finland (1), Sweden Germany(2), Austria, Cyprus (S) Cyprus (N) Italy (3), Romania (4) Slovenia, Denmark Greece, Spain, France, Netherlands (5),

Hungary Belgium (6) Luxembourg Ireland, United Kingdom, Estonia,

Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, Turkey, Malta

Lithuania (7), Latvia, Poland (8)

Other forms of workplace employee representation

• Employee delegates

• Health and safety committee or representative

• Representation on board of directors or supervisory board

Spain, France, Luxembourg

All countries (1)

Slovenia, Netherlands, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Poland, Greece (2), Ireland(2), Luxembourg, Romania (3)

Représentation au Représentation au conseilconseil

d'administration ou de d'administration ou de surveillancesurveillance

Vertretung imVertretung im AufsichtsAufsichts- /- / VerwaltungsratVerwaltungsrat

Representation on Representation on board of board of

directors ordirectors orsupervisory boardsupervisory board

public

Central Works Council - Comité de groupeCentral Works Council - Comité de groupe Gesamt-/ Konzernbetriebsrat Gesamt-/ Konzernbetriebsrat

possiblepossible

legal legal basisbasis

Legal basis of the bodies

• Legislation

• Collective agreement

• Collective agreement and legislation

Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain

Cyprus (N), Cyprus (S), Denmark, Sweden, Malta, Turkey, United Kingdom(1), Ireland

Belgium, Finland(2), Italy (1) Finland: Codetermination determined

by legislation but shop stewards only by interproffessional agreeement