Self-interest, Legal Commitment and Benevolence: The Emergence and Enforcement of a Swiss Labour Market Institution

Abstract

The long-established ‘basic agreements’ in the Nordic countries are well known; less familiar is the analogous institution in the Swiss labour market, first established in 1937 in the metalworking industry. This article contributes to the understanding of such agreements though an analysis of the peace clauses that are central to collective bargaining in Switzerland. It describes the emergence of the 1937 agreement, with an emphasis on the actors’ strategies and the external economic pressure that provoked the move towards cooperation, and explains the persistence of cooperative institutions, emphasizing the role of mutual interests, of a mandatory cooperative framework and of benevolence. Since the benefits of the agreement have come to represent a public good, the conclusion examines the emergence of a free-rider problem.

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“…In 1998, the clause was declared definitive but altered with minor concessions to SMUV (interview former SMUV and Unia secretary, November 2017). In 2002, SMUV wanted to abolish the clause but did not succeed, and the CA was prolonged unchanged until 2006 (Broussolle, ).…”

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“…The strategy adopted by employer and employee's representatives was aimed at obtaining mutual recognition without falling under state control. In one of the last meetings before the signing of the peace agreement, the president of SMUV (the main metalworkers' union) affirmed: “we must persuade workers that we will still be threatened by fascism for a long time” (quoted in Broussolle :282). Again, SMUV's leading official stated: “if we reach an agreement in these relatively easy times, it should also be workable when times become harder [war is threatening Europe]” (quoted in Broussolle :281).…”

“…Consequently, the threat of government intervention was an essential factor leading to the peace agreement (cf. Lambelet, ; Broussolle, ). The strategy adopted by employer and employee's representatives was aimed at obtaining mutual recognition without falling under state control.…”