Collective bargaining and working time in Europe

Although union densities have fallen markedly almost everywhere in Europe over recent decades, many European countries still have particularly high and stable levels of binding collective bargaining coverage. The main reason is State support for collective bargaining systems. A central feature of this is the instrument of the declaration of general... Find out more

This Policy Brief provides an overview of collective bargaining responses to the crisis in Europe. It shows clearly that collective bargaining has proven to be an effective instrument to maintain employment and to allow companies to find flexible solutions to deal with the steep economic downturn. They note, though, that the increased pressure for... Find out more

The regulation of working time has historically been at the centre of the labour movement's struggle and in recent decades working time has also been a core issue for trade unions. In the 1990s and early 2000s, much of the working time debate was about labour's goal of working time reduction, the interest of employers in working time flexibility... Find out more