International Labor Organization

1
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
  labor
• Effective abolition of child labour
• Elimination of discrimination in respect of
  employment and occupation

2
Country Examples
3
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.

4
Canada (cont.)

• Differences
• Determination of Majority status only four
  provinces require a vote, 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)

5
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

6
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

7
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

8
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

9
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

10
Collective Bargaining and EU

• No EU-Level collective bargaining legislation
• EU Charter requires members to protect freedom of
  association and collective bargaining

11
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.

12
European Union

• Corporatist/Social Partnership Model

13
Models of Collective Bargaining in Labor Law

• Assumptions of Competitive markets and importance
  of individual choice

• Assumptions of noncompetitive markets and
  importance of collective power

• Decentralized Union Recognition
• United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan
• Encourages employee choice
• Indifferent to collective bargaining

• Centralized Union Recognition
• Germany, France
• Encourages unionization and collective bargaining
• Indifferent to Employee Choice

14
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

15
Australia (cont.)

• Since 1996, a shift away from centralized
  arbitration awards to enterprise-level bargaining
• Workplace Relations Act of 1996 (conservative
  govt.)
• At federal level
• Unions and Management
• Collective bargaining Awards or
  certified agreement
• Management
• Nonunion CB certified
  agreements
• Nonunion individual bargaining
  certified agreements

16
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

17
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

18
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

19
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

20
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