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▪ The framework of the European social dialogue (ESD) has enabled interest organizations at the European level to conclude agreements on a wide range of social policy issues. This applies both at the inter-sectoral level and within the various sectors, and has led in the last few decades to the creation of a large number of joint texts. This article addresses the issue of the added value of these results for the parties concluding them. It is argued that the ESD does not constitute a system of industrial relations at the European level, but serves as an alternative lobbying channel for the social partners involved.

Drawing on the findings of research in the public hospitals sector in five European countries 1 -France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK-this article assesses the character of change in wage setting and collective bargaining. It demonstrates the diversity of national arrangements by comparing key characteristics: (i) the bodies of collective representation (unions, professional associations and employer bodies); (ii) the degree of integration with the wider public sector framework; (iii) coordination (or competition) with the private hospitals sector; and (iv) the practice of à la carte provisions within individual hospitals. Despite national varieties of wage setting and collective bargaining, each country sector faces similar tensions-most notably the opposition between public (labour market) rules and health (product market) rules, and pressures to segment or integrate employment conditions by labour force group. By examining the nature of change in institutions for wage setting and collective bargaining in each country, the article contributes to our understanding of the extent of coordination and change of public sector wage setting and describes three scenarios: fragmentation (Germany); continuity (France and the Netherlands); and reconstruction (the UK and Norway). 1 This article draws on the detailed assessments of changes in industrial relations, pay and work organisation in the public sector hospitals of France (Méhaut et al., 2008), Germany (Jaerhling, 2008), the Netherlands (van der Meer, 2008) and the UK (Grimshaw and Carroll, 2008), listed in the bibliography. These four country reports were prepared as part of a European project funded by the Russell Sage Foundation on low-wage work. Each report considered two occupational groups in detail, the nurse assistant and the cleaner. Detailed information for Norway derives from research conducted independently by Nirit Shimron that explores changes in wage-setting institutions in three sectors (hospital, banking and metalworking) in Norway, Germany and the UK.

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