Decentralised collective bargaining in France, Germany and Italy: industrial relations and SMEs interactions for economic growth

The project ‘Decentralised collective bargaining in France, Germany and Italy: industrial relations and SMEs interactions for economic growth’ aims at improving expertise in the field of industrial relations, in particular on the current situation and future developments of decentralised collective bargaining in three EU Member States: Germany, France and Italy.

The project stems from the recognition that European political economies have been significantly reconfigured over the past two decades in relation to new challenges (changing international markets, increased competition in manufacturing and the rise of services).

In Germany, France and Italy, such changes and their effects have been significant, especially in regard to:

• Centralised collective bargaining/firm-based bargaining relationships;
• Labour market deregulation;
• Welfare systems recasting.

The central question of this project concerns the development of the German and French systems in comparison to the Italian industrial relations system. These countries will be compared in terms of the usual measures of labour organisation.

Rather than looking at whether an industrial relations system is correct or not, this project seeks to foster a better and more nuanced understanding of the complex interactions between industrial relations, decentralised bargaining and economic growth, with a focus on SMEs.

The objective of the project will be achieved through desk analysis and mutual learning activities involving national and international stakeholders.

The project will be developed in three steps:

• Background analysis focusing on the existing legal provisions on decentralised bargaining in Italy, France and Germany;
• Case study analysis, carried out through research on selected decentralised (regional/firm level) collective bargaining agreements (CBA) related to the National Collective Bargaining Agreement, focusing on wage settings, working hours, paritarian institutions;
• Synthesis and dissemination of results.