class on workers’ rights
The notes for today’s class are here. I will update this url with the notes for classes as we proceed.
As I mentioned in class, rates of worker participation in trades unions vary from country to country. In the US now about 12.5 percent of wage and salary workers are union members (down from 20.1 percent in 1983). In looking into the data yesterday I wasn’t able to find broad and up to date comparative date, but around 1988-1990 (different dates for different states) the US had about 16%, and France about 11% union membership. Germany had 39%, the UK 46%, Italy 65%, Denmark 88% and Sweden 95%. Eironline has a more recent survey which gives “crude figures” as follows:
over 90% in Romania;
80%-89% in Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Sweden;
70%-79% in Italy and Norway;
60%-69% in Cyprus and Malta;
50%-59% in Luxembourg;
40%-49% in Austria and Slovenia;
30%-39% in Hungary, Ireland and Portugal;
20%-29% in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the UK; and
10%-19% in Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Spain.
According to a comparative survey at the european industrial relations observatory online, minimum wages set by statute were around 7 euros per hour in 2004 in France, Ireland and the UK and around 1 euro per hour in Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Wages are set through collective agreement in some Member States including Germany, Finland and Austria.
We also looked at how European Community law requiring freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services across borders may conflict with the EU’s commitment that workers should have a voice. Viking, a Finnish Shipping line is attempting to stop industrial action over its plans to change the flag state of one of its ferries from Finland to Estonia. In arguing that the EC Treaty protects its right to freedom of establishment Viking is arguing that Art. 43 of the Treaty should be regarded as producing horizontal direct effects so that Viking can enforce the right to establishment not just against Member States whose laws might interfere with freedom of establishment but also against non-state actors whose actions might make establishment in other Member States more difficult. The language of Art. 43 does not make it clear whether Art 43 should be treated as producing horizontal direct effects or not.