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Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe. Volume I Employ 22/11/99 1:41 pm Page 1 Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page i Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page ii The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions is an autonomous body of the European Union, created to assist the formulation of future policy on social and work-related matters. Further information can be found at the Foundation web site: http://www.eurofound.ie/ Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page iii Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe Volume 1 Edited by Michael Gold and Manfred Weiss EUROPEAN FOUNDATION for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: +353 1 204 3100 Fax: +353 1 282 6456 E-mail: [email protected] Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page iv Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1998 ISBN 92-828-5386-1 © European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 1998 For rights of translation or reproduction, applications should be made to the Director, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Printed in Ireland The paper used in this publication is chlorine free and comes from managed forests in Northern Europe. For every tree felled, at least one new tree is planted. Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page v Foreword European economic, monetary and social integration have seen substantial progress in the last 15 years. Developments in regulations and practices, and increased social dialogue on employment and industrial relations, have all contributed to this process. The Foundation believes that social dialogue at the international level can both enhance and benefit from a better understanding of the different national contexts in which dialogue takes place. An essential prerequisite for such improved understanding is an awareness of the principal aspects of the national industrial relations systems. This publication, covering eight EU countries, and its companion volume, which will cover the remaining seven, set out the key elements and concepts of industrial relations in the different Member States, from a comparative perspective. The Foundation hopes that this publication will be useful to a variety of users and will be seen as a suitable complement to its other activities in the field of industrial relations, such as the EIRO database, and the series of European Employment and Industrial Relations Glossaries. Clive Purkiss Eric Verborgh Director Deputy Director v Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page vi vi Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page vii Contents Page Foreword v Notes on Contributors ix Introduction 1 Michael Gold and Manfred Weiss Chapter 1 Belgium 13 Roger Blanpain and Nancy Luyten Chapter 2 Denmark 45 Ole Hasselbalch Chapter 3 Germany 65 Manfred Weiss Chapter 4 Greece 87 Yota Kravaritou Chapter 5 Italy 111 Serafino Negrelli and Tiziano Treu Chapter 6 The Netherlands 143 Paul van der Heijden vii Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page viii Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe Chapter 7 Portugal 167 M‡rio Pinto, Pedro Furtado Martins and Ant—nio Nunes de Carvalho Chapter 8 Spain 191 Antonio Mart’n Valverde Appendices: 223 Table 1 Key employment indicators (1996): total 224 Table 2 Key employment indicators (1996): men 226 Table 3 Key employment indicators (1996): women 228 Table 4 Trade union membership 230 Table 5 Trade union density 231 Table 6 Changes in trade union density 232 Table 7 Number of strikes and lockouts 233 Table 8 Workers involved in strikes and lockouts 233 Table 9 Workdays not worked as a result of strikes and lockouts 234 Table 10 Collective bargaining structure in selected countries 234 viii Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page ix Notes on Contributors Editors Michael Gold: Royal Holloway College, University of London (European business and employee relations). He is also consultant editor of the European Industrial Relations Observatory based at the Foundation in Dublin. Manfred Weiss: J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main (labour and civil law). He has held numerous visiting professorships overseas and has acted as consultant for many years to the European Commission, the ILO and various governments, particularly in Eastern Europe. Belgium Roger Blanpain: Catholic University of Leuven (comparative labour law and industrial relations). Amongst many other positions, he has been editor-in-chief of the International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations since 1975. Nancy Luyten: admitted to the Brussels Bar in 1992. She has wide experience of international labour and social security law, and has worked at the Catholic University of Leuven (labour law) since 1994. Denmark Ole Hasselbalch: Aarhus School of Business (labour law). He has worked as a lawyer and research director for the Danish Employers’ Confederation and currently edits Arbejdsretlig Orientering. He also founded and runs a data retrieval system on labour law, Arbejdsretsorientering. ix Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page x Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe Germany Manfred Weiss: J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main (labour and civil law). He has held numerous visiting professorships overseas and has acted as consultant for many years to the European Commission, the ILO and various governments, particularly in Eastern Europe. Greece Yota Kravaritou: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and European University Institute in Florence (law). She has also worked at the Institut d’Études Européenes at the Free University of Brussels. Her specialist area is equal opportunities. Italy Serafino Negrelli: University of Brescia (industrial relations). His interests focus on the motor, telecommunications and banking sectors. He also sits on the executive committee of the Associazione Italiana di Studio delle Relazioni Industriali. Tiziano Treu: Catholic University of Milan (labour law). He is president of the International Industrial Relations Association and became Minister for Labour and Social Security in the Italian Government in 1995. The Netherlands Paul van der Heijden: University of Amsterdam (labour law) and director of the Hugo Sinzheimer Institute since 1989. He has also worked in the Dutch Ministry of Justice and as a judge in the Court of Law, Amsterdam. Portugal Pedro Furtado Martins: Catholic University of Portugal (law) and Labour Research Centre. He contributes to the European Industrial Relations Observatory, and specializes in the areas of employment contracts and dismissals. António Nunes de Carvalho: Catholic University of Portugal (law) and Labour Research Centre. He is also a member of the Portuguese team contributing to the European Industrial Relations Observatory. Mário Pinto: Catholic University of Portugal (labour law) and director of its Labour Research Centre. Amongst other publications, he has contributed the x Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page xi Notes on Contributors section on Portugal for the International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. Spain Antonio Martín Valverde: judge in the Social Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court. He has also taught and published widely, and was formerly director of the Department of Labour Law and Social Security at the University of Seville. xi Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page xii Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page 1 Introduction Michael Gold and Manfred Weiss The idea for this volume, which contains analyses of the industrial relations systems in eight Member States of the European Union, arose out of a long- standing project of the Foundation: the publication of a set of European Employment and Industrial Relations Glossaries covering all 15 Member States. These glossaries, which are published in an international English version (and some also in their national language), provide a comprehensive guide to industrial relations institutions and terminology that has already proved invaluable to practitioners and academics alike. Writing in 1991, Prof. Tiziano Treu stated in his preface to the series: ÔThe development of social dialogue, and the ever-increasing need for debate and discussion between the Member States, employers and unions, spurred by the prospect of full European economic integration in 1992, have given a fresh impetus to the need for clarity and mutual understanding in this vital subject.Õ He added that the thousands of potential users across Europe of the glossaries included national and international administrators, academics and researchers, trade unionists and managers, and specialist journalists, amongst others. As the feedback proves, the series has become a success: 12 of the 15 glossaries are now available, and updating of the earliest ones is under way. They have become an indispensable tool for a large group of users, which has borne out the truth of Prof. TreuÕs words. In fact, since then, the Ôneed for clarity and mutual understandingÕ has dramatically increased. The reasons for this are complex but include the following aspects: the consolidation of the European monetary 1 Employ Relations B5 1/2/99 5:43 PM Page 2 Employment and Industrial Relations in Europe union programme, which will place even greater emphasis on the requirement for ÔflexibleÕ labour markets; the intention of the European Commission to create a social dimension that already includes the rapid development of European works councils and the internationalization of information disclosure and consultation within multinational companies; the sharpening awareness of industrial relations as a productive factor in competitiveness at both national and European levels; and continuing debates about the nature and desirability of convergence of national industrial relations institutions. Within this context, the Foundation decided to update and revise the introductory essays to each of the glossaries and publish them in two volumes, the first one of which is here before you.
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