International Labor Organization
• Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work – Freedom of association and the effective
recognition of the right to collective bargaining – Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory la
bor
– Effective abolition of child labour – Elimination of discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation
Country Examples
Canada• Basic legal structures modeled on U.S. labor law – Exclusive representation– Majority rule– Administrative agency– Written, fixed term contracts– Grievance and arbitration procedures
• Most provinces require grievance arbitration
• Levels of government– Provinces regulate collective bargaining at facilities within
the provinces except interprovincial industries– Federal jurisdiction regulates such industries as airlines,
telecommunications, railroads, etc.
Canada (cont.)• Differences
– Determination of Majority status – only five provinces require a vote (Alb., BC, NS., Ont., Sask.) , rest use other evidence (cards, dues, etc.)
– Minimal judicial review in Canada– No mandatory-permissive distinction– Third party involvement in dispute resolution
• Mandatory mediation or conciliation in all jurisdictions• First contract arbitration (8 jurisdictions)
– Striker replacement restrictions• Four jurisdictions, including the three largest provinces (British
Columbia, Ontario, Quebec)
France• Freedom of Association guaranteed in constitution,
including rights to create and join unions• Recognition in France highly centralized– Called “representativeness”
• Determined by history or union, independence from employers• Representation rights legally granted to five union confederations and
affiliates if they represent one employee
• Principle of extension means CB coverage high, even when union membership low– Representative union has right to request contract extension to
sector
• Greater value placed on union countervailing power than on employee choice
United Kingdom• Through mid-2000, purely voluntary recognition• Since mid-2000, a statutory recognition procedure through
Employment Relations Act (ERA) of 1999– union may refer disputed recognition matter to a tripartite Central
Arbitration Committee (CAC)• Unit • Recognition or ballot
– CAC has adopted a specified bargaining method to be used if parties unable to agree on one• Joint Negotiating Body consisting of equal no. of union and er reps• Negotiations shall address pay ,hours, and holidays• A detailed multi-step procedure with time limits for proposals and
responses
• Question as to whether the ERA will survive a conservative government
Germany• Peak labor organization, DGB, brings order to union recognition
– DGB assigns specific unions to specific industries
• Union represents workers if only one worker a union member– Union negotiates TCE with employer or industry/regional employers’
association– Characteristics of unions
• Democratic• Voluntary assoc. of ees• Adequate financial resources• Must be able to pursue industrial action
• Collective Bargaining between industry unions and employers’ association – Types of agreements
• Wages• Framework – everything but wages
– May by law be extended to other employers in industry or region
Spain• Right to freedom of association and join a union in
constitution– Right to manage of lower status than employee freedom
of association– Consistent with international treaties, including ILO
conventions
• Supported by Organic Law of Trade Union Freedom (OLTUF)
• Recognition– Union receives privileges at 15% members– Unions represent workers at workplace and in works
councils
Ireland• Recognition– company would not be obliged formally to recognise the
union(s) concerned – Ers compelled to
• accept the right of unionised employees to be represented on issues relating to pay and terms and conditions of employment
• accept binding Labour Court recommendations in respect of these issues. In effect, it is something of an "arms' length" solution that would appear to be acceptable to both sides
• Negotiations/Bargaining– Social partners develop national pay agreements• Extended to union sector only
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Collective Bargaining and EU• No EU-Level collective bargaining
legislation– EU Charter requires members to protect
freedom of association and collective bargaining
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Social Partners – Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)
• Article 137– A Member State may entrust management and labour, at their joint
request, with the implementation of (social policy) directives adopted pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3. • Article 138
– 1. The Commission shall have the task of promoting the consultation of management and labour at Community level and shall take any relevant measure to facilitate their dialogue by ensuring balanced support for the parties.
– 2. To this end, before submitting proposals in the social policy field, the Commission shall consult management and labour on the possible direction of Community action.
– 3. If, after such consultation, the Commission considers Community action advisable, it shall consult management and labour on the content of the envisaged proposal. Management and labour shall forward to the Commission an opinion or, where appropriate, a recommendation.
European Union
• Corporatist/Social Partnership Model
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Models of Collective Bargaining in Labor Law
Assumptions of noncompetitive markets and importance of collective power
• Centralized Union Recognition– Germany, France, Spain
• Encourages unionization and collective bargaining
• Indifferent to Employee Choice
Assumptions of Competitive markets and importance of individual choice
• Decentralized Union Recognition– United States, Canada, United
Kingdom, Japan• Encourages employee choice• Indifferent to collective
bargaining
Australia• For most of 20th century, had developed an extensive
system of (interest/contract) arbitration to determine terms and conditions of employment– State and federal (50-50)– Often used pre-determined guidelines– Roughly 80% of workforce covered by tribunal arbitration
awards
• Actors– Australian Council of Trade Unions became a lobbying entity
in the tribunal system– Employer Associations: Australian Industry Group, ACCI, BCA
Australia (cont.)• Since 1996, a shift away from centralized industry/sectoral arbitration
awards to enterprise-level bargaining• Workplace Relations Act of 1996 (conservative govt.)
– Moved to a system by which enterprise agreements could exist with awards– Parties could opt to remain in award system or move to enterprise agreement – Individual agreements could override collective agreement
• Fair Work Act of 2009 (Labour Govt.)– Reinstated er obligation to negotiate in good faith with unions and primacy of
collective agreements over individual agreements
– Shift back toward industry awards– If 20 employees or more select a registered (with govt.) union, those
employees become party to a sectoral award– http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pay-leave-and-conditions/Awards/
Pages/Modern-awards.aspx?role=employees
Australia (cont.)• Workplace Relations Act Amendment of 2006 (Work
Choices)– A reduction in the number of "allowable matters", which
could be covered by awards Creation of five minimum workplace conditions;
– Exemption of companies with fewer than 101 employees from unfair dismissal laws
– Exemption of all companies from unfair dismissal laws where a dismissal is for a bona fide operational reason
– Increased restrictions on allowable industrial action; – Mandating secret ballots for industrial action; – Outlawing pattern bargaining and industry-wide industrial
action.
Australia (cont.)
• Fair Work Act of 2009 (Labour govt.)– Creates a system to resolve questions over representation– Reinstated good faith bargaining at the enterprise level
• Enforcement by determination if a “serious breach declaration”
– Will integrate awards into new system– Reinstated primacy of collective agreements over individual agreements
– Shift back toward industry awards– If 20 employees or more select a registered (with govt.) union, those
employees become party to a sectoral award– http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pay-leave-and-conditions/Awards/
Pages/Modern-awards.aspx?role=employees
Australia (cont.)
• State Level (25% of full-time employees)– Need not follow federal level• Victoria (2nd largest, 25% of ees)
– abolished mandatory arbitration in 1993– Ceded IR authority to federal government in 1996
– New South Wales (largest, 33% of ees), Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania basically retained old arbitration system
Latin American Systems• History of state- or party-linked unions• Unions historically were political actors rather than
economic actors• Developing countries and legacy of import substitution
policy • Created “corporatist” structures
– “corporatism” a system in which one entity is given the legal franchise to “represent” a legally defined constituency at the national/political level• National peak labor organization (like AFL-CIO/Change to Win) –
represent all workers• Employer Organization – represents all employers
Latin American Examples
• Mexico– Peak organizations linked to PRI
• Venezuela– Peak organizations linked to both political parties
• Negotiate with government on labor laws on governmental intervention in labor disputes, strikes, etc.
• Social/political actor role continues to be important
India• Highly regulated due to British colonial influence
– Minimize industrial disputes– Ensure wartime production
• Recogntion– Union registration required– Er recognition not required
• Economic power at the enterprise level
• Industrial Disputes– Government may intervene
• Conciliation• Adjudication
Summary
• Countries that are developing or that have developed since WWII generally have high levels of state intervention– Union involvement in political system
• Government role in economic development
