On the road to transnational cooperation? Results from a survey of European trade unions

Abstract

Economic globalization and political developments within the EU have put pressure upon trade unions to engage in cross-border cooperation. The most realistic step in the foreseeable future is transnational coordination of collective bargaining, but the process is still very much in its infancy. We use a web and postal survey of a large number of European trade unions to illuminate their current practices and their preferences for the future. The most common activity is exchange of information on collective agreements, followed by collaboration in training programmes for union representatives, and such cross-border cooperation primarily involves unions in manufacturing. Support for European collective bargaining is far from overwhelming, and unions are clearly divided on the idea of statutory minimum wages: this has rather strong support in Spain and Germany, but very little in Scandinavia.

Trade Union Channels for Influencing European Union Policies

“…In addition, even if they have been strongly involved in European trade union cooperation and organization, the Nordic unions, and particularly the Swedish, have often taken a cautious stance in pursuing joint action and in developing cooperative structures in an attempt to defend their own system of industrial relations (Bengtsson, 2015;Bieler & Lindberg, 2011: 222;Busemeyer et al, 2008;Furåker & Bengtsson, 2013;Furåker & Lovén Seldén, 2013;Larsson, 2014;cf. Glassner & Vandaele, 2012;Gumbrell-McCormick & Hyman, 2013, p.…”

“…EU membership and organization size matter in the sense that trade unions in EU member countries and larger unions tend to cooperate to a higher degree in trying to influence EU policies than unions in non-EU member countries and smaller unions. The effect of size may be explained in that resources are needed to pursue such cooperation, which has also been shown to be of importance for other forms of cooperation between trade unions in Europe (Furåker & Bengtsson, 2013;Larsson, 2014).…”

“…Trade unions in Europe generally agree on the importance of cooperating transnationally and engaging in European issues (Furåker & Bengtsson, 2013). Moreover, most of them see the need to adjust their aims and methods to the actual decision-making process at the EU level (Larsson, 2014).…”

“…They have been under less external pressure to engage in cross-border cooperation and have developed transnational trade union cooperation and sector dialogue later and in a weaker form (European Commission, 2010; cf. Furåker & Bengtsson, 2013;Larsson, 2012Larsson, , 2014.…”

“…They are experiencing setbacks through declining membership and a reduced scope for action not only due to rulings by the European Court of Justice (e.g., the so-called Laval Quartet) but also because of austerity policies (Bücker & Warneck, 2010;Marginson, 2014;Scheuer, 2011). In addition, many obstacles to cross-border cooperation remain from the past such as institutional differences, scarcity of union resources, and low interest in the European level among members (Furåker & Bengtsson, 2013;Larsson, 2012). The difficulties in trade union cooperation also increased after the EU enlargements because of differences in working conditions, wage levels, and union structure and interest between old and new member states (Meardi, 2012).…”