Negotiating Our Way Up
Collective Bargaining in a Changing World of Work
Collective bargaining and workers’ voice are often discussed in the past rather than in the future tense, but can they play a role in the context of a rapidly changing world of work? This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the functioning of collective bargaining systems and workers’ voice arrangements across OECD countries, and new insights on their effect on labour market performance today. The publication provides a detailed review of existing collective bargaining institutions and workers’ voice arrangements. It analyses the role of these institutions for employment, wages, labour market inclusiveness, as well as non-monetary aspects of job quality. The publication also discusses how collective bargaining can be mobilised to address emerging challenges in the labour market, and identifies the type of government intervention that may be required to do this. The report provides a resource for policy makers, trade unions and employers’ organisations interested in understanding how collective bargaining and workers' voice can be used to complement public regulation in shaping ever-changing labour markets.
The role of collective bargaining systems for labour market performance
This chapter assesses the role of collective bargaining for labour market performance in OECD countries. It builds on the detailed characterisation of collective bargaining systems and practices presented in the previous chapter. Using a rich mix of country-, sector-, firm- and worker‑level data, this chapter investigates the link of different collective bargaining settings with employment, wages, wage inequality and productivity. It then discusses how broad‑based employee and employer organisations, administrative extensions, organised forms of decentralisation and wage co‑ordination may contribute to better balance inclusiveness and flexibility in the labour market.