Multi-employer bargaining under pressure : decentralisation trends in five European countries

The book analyses the most recent transformations in national industrial relations systems with a view to understanding the direction of change, its drivers and its real impact. With a wealth of information and data, the study covers five countries traditionally characterized by a comparatively high degree of central coordination: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The individual chapters focus on legal reforms and practices, highlighting general trends but also cross-sectoral differences. Although the crisis induced a number of policydriven changes – especially in the countries hit hardest by the economic downturn and more exposed in terms of public finances – no systemic changes in the operation of the collective bargaining machinery have yet taken place. Indeed, a number of elements indicate the resilience of national employment relations, which can be attributed essentially to the autonomous institutions of industrial relations and the actions of the social partners.