Research reveals impact of declining collective bargaining coverage

USA

The Economic Policy Institute in the US has just published research that reveals the impact of declining union density and collective bargaining on wages. It finds, for example, that falling union membership translates to a loss of $1.56 (€1.47) per hour worked for the average worker, the equivalent of $3,250 (€3,070) for a full-time, full-year worker. Meanwhile, the erosion of collective bargaining lowered the median hourly wage also by $1.56 (€1.47), a 7.9% decline (0.2% annually), from 1979 to 2017. An analysis of wage distribution found that declining unionisation had widened inequality between high-wage earners and middle-wage earners as the wages of the latter were depressed while there was little impact on high-wage earners at the 90th percentile.

More like this

Mar. 05, 2020

ETUC reveals decline in collective bargaining

Europe

The ETUC has revealed the latest data showing the decline in collective bargaining coverage across Europe. The ETUC has been pressing the case for action on wages and collective bargaining and set out a range of key demands and red lines in its submission to the European Commission's consultation on fair minimum wages. Figures from the University of Amsterdam show that 3.3 million fewer workers are covered by collective bargaining compared to 2000. The biggest percentage declines have been seen in Romania, Greece and Bulgaria.

 S
Jan. 10, 2018

Study reveals decline in job quality

Europe

A new report from the European Trade Union Institute shows what aspects of work improved or deteriorated over the last decade. It updates the Institute's European Job Quality Index which covers a broad range of work and employment characteristics, including wages, non-wage aspects of employment and work organisation, and collective interest representation. The results indicate a decline in non-wage job quality over the past decade and sluggish real wage growth in the years following the crisis.

 S
Feb. 14, 2014

High collective bargaining coverage in electricity sector

Europe

The EIRO industrial relations observatory has published a study on the representativeness of the social partners in the electricity industry. This is part of the formal process required by the European Commission and confirms that the two European Trade Union Federations - EPSU and industrAll - are the two most representative trade unions at European level. The study found that: "Collective bargaining coverage is relatively high in the electricity sector. Some 18 of the 22 countries with available data record high rates of collective bargaining coverage, exceeding 70%. The remaining countries

 S