The attacks on collective bargaining across Europe are the result of policies being advocated not just by European Institutions - the European Commission and the European Central Bank - but also by the third partner of the so-called troika - the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF promotes what it sees as the positive effects on economic growth of its preferred menu of labour market reforms - decentralised collective bargaining and lower coverage, weaker trade unions and flexible labour markets.
However, as a new report, Frontlines 2013 , from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) points out the IMF claims don't stand up to scrutiny and are based on a "failed ideology":
There is absolutely no evidence that countries with highly decentralised collective bargaining systems and weak trade unions gain any economic advantage.
Frontlines 2013 looks in detail at the the relationship between trade union strength, collective bargaining systems and indicators of labour market and economic performance. It also examines evidence about the impact of union strength and collective bargaining on wage differentials and the wage share in the economy, given the critical role of income inequality as a driving force behind the global economic crisis.
The report contradicts the arguments of the IMF, pointing out the economic and social advantages of strong unions, high levels of collective bargaining coverage and synchronised bargaining systems. It says that countries with these features:
...have consistently performed better in terms of unemployment, and the produced a wage distribution that is more compatible with social cohesion, political stability and stable economic growth.
The report also looks in detail at the impact of IMF-driven troika policies in Greece, Spain and Portugal, highlighting not only the fundamental attacks on basic labour rights but also the to boost job creation and reduce unemployment.
The analysis also covers Romania where the situation is different and where the pressure to decentralise bargaining is an IMF-promoted policy reflecting the positions advanced by international investors led by the American Chamber of Commerce and Foreign Investors Council. Again the ITUC is seriously concerned about the :
...interference by the IMF and the European Commission in the details of laws that go to the very core of the right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining...
The ITUC is calling for a "new reform agenda based on economic evidence" and that:
In the last few years, trust has been destroyed by austerity and draconian labour reforms. To rebuild trust, attacks on collective bargaining and workers rights must stop.
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