Policies to strengthen collective bargaining

The adoption of the EU’s Adequate Minimum Wage Directive in 2022 could be a watershed for the EU, as it requires EU member states to strengthen collective bargaining. Countries with coverage below 80% will have to do so through national action plans. The literature shows that multi-employer bargaining systems are a necessary but insufficient condition for reaching these thresholds. In addition, policies should focus on extending such agreements or radically increasing trade union membership. To gauge the potential impact of National Action Plans, this article draws on contributions from 20 countries to outline a number of concrete strategies for strengthening collective bargaining. These include building the capacity of unions and employers, facilitating bargaining processes, ensuring the effectiveness of agreements and promoting a culture conducive to collective bargaining. While there is clearly no shortage of ideas, whether the directive will be a turning point will also depend on political will.