Collective bargaining in the European building industry - European collective bargaining?

One aim of the project entitled "European collective bargaining in the building industry" (a joint initiative by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the German trade union IG Bau and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers- EFBWW) is to investigate what steps are necessary to achieve better coordination of collective bargaining policy in this sector. The building workers' trade unions in Europe continue to differ concerning the extent to which they believe such coordination should lead to common positions, common claims or collective agreements in Europe. The project will examine the collective bargaining systems currently in operation in the building sector in Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. This article describes, on the basis of the project findings to date, the difficulties and obstacles which beset the coordination of collective bargaining policy in Europe.