Foundations and Perspectives of Trade Union Wage Policy in Europe

Considering the degree of political and economic integration in Europe, trade unions can no longer stick to purely national strategies. Since the 1980s the key political projects of European integration have played a major role to force the neoliberal reorganisation of European capitalism (Bieling and Steinhilber 2000). Especially the introduction of the European Monetary Union has turned out to be an important political catalyst, which put the need for a Europeanisation of wage policy and collective bargaining on the trade unions? agenda. A number of trade union initiatives have meanwhile developed, aiming at European coordination of wage policy. The first goal of these initiatives is to lay down a set of shared ground rules and objectives for national wage policy, which are supposed to prevent competitive underbidding of labour costs and wage dumping. Although the majority of these initiatives are still on their initial stages one can already identify several points of contention and impediments to full success, which might obstruct effective collective bargaining coordination. The experience hitherto indicates that it will not be enough to establish collective bargaining coordination as a mere technocratic procedure. The trade unions need an overarching political project instead, which will amount to nothing less than striving for a reconstruction of solidaristic wage policy in Europe. --

Europeanisation of collective bargaining: An overview on trade union initiatives for a transnational coordination of collective bargaining policy

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Trade union responses to precarious employment in Germany

Since the mid-1980s Germany saw a continuing increase of precarious employment which now amounts to about one third of the total labour force. Considering the negative social side-effects of this development, the voices which call for a re-regulation of the labour market have become more prominent in recent years. The study analyses strategic responses of German trade unions to the increase of precarious employment. Hereby, it distinguishes between four different approaches: First, unions can demand and lobby for changes in legislation in order to limit, prevent or even forbid certain forms of precarious employment. Secondly, the unions can conclude collective agreements to improve the conditions of precarious employment and to limit its use at sectoral or company level. Thirdly, union can develop practical help and assistance to precarious workers and recruit them as union members. Finally, the unions can promote their own vision of good work as a counter model against precarious employment.After a general overview on the different union strategies the study presents details in four case-studies of how the unions act in the following areas: - low wages - temporary agency work - dependent self-employed workers - apprentices - The study is part of a European project Bargaining for Social Rights (BARSORI) which is financed by the European Commission (Agreement Ref. VS/2010/0811). -- Seit Mitte der 1980er Jahr hat er Anteil prekärere Beschäftigung in Deutschland kontinuierlich zugenommen und umfasst mittlerweile etwas ein Drittel aller Beschäftigungsverhältnisse. Angesichts der negativen sozialen und ökonomischen Folgen werden die Stimmen immer lauter, die für eine Re-Regulierung des Arbeitsmarktes eintreten.Die Studie analysiert die gewerkschaftlichen Antworten der Gewerkschaften gegenüber der zunehmenden Bedeutung prekärer Beschäftigung: dabei werden vier strategische Ansätze unterschieden: 1. Gesetzliche Änderungen, um bestimmte Formen prekärer Beschäftigung zu verhindern, zu begrenzen oder zu verbieten 2. Tarifverträge zur Begrenzung prekärer Beschäftigung und zur Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen von prekär Beschäftigten 3. Organisierung von prekär Beschäftigten und die Entwicklung praktischer Hilfs- und Unterstützungsangebote 4. Die Entwicklung eines gewerkschaftlichen Leitbildes von Guter Arbeit als Gegenmodell zu prekärer BeschäftigungNach einem allgemeinen Überblick über die verschiedenen gewerkschaftlichen Strategien, enthält das Papier vier Fallstudien in den folgenden Bereichen: - Niedriglöhne - Leiharbeit - Abhängige Selbstständige - Auszubildende - Die Studie ist Teil eines europäischen Projektes Bargaining for Social Rights (BARSORI), das von der Europäischen Kommission finanziert wird (Ref. VS/2010/0811).

Unemployment, Wages and Collective Bargaining in the European Union

The paper questions the predominant view on unemployment and wages in the European Union according to which high unemployment is primarily caused by labour market rigidities, i.e. social institutions and regulations which prevent ?market-clearing? real wage levels and structures. It is shown that the foundations of that view coming either from neo-classical or new-Keynesian theory are not convincing, neither theoretically nor empirically. Analysing the developments in the EU during the last four decades, no strictly inverse relationship between real wage growth and unemployment can be found. On the contrary, persistently high unemployment has had strong adverse effects on nominal wage growth and on the labour income share. Weakened labour union bargaining power and changing collective bargaining strategies have contributed to this result. It is therefore concluded that the current EU economic and employment policies aiming at further wage restraint, wage differentiation and decentralisation of collective bargaining are deeply misguided and have to be replaced by an alternative wage policy in Europe as part of a growth and employment oriented coordination of macroeconomic policies. --European employment policy,wage theory,wage trends,collective bargaining

Introduction to the Diffusion Monte Carlo Method

A self-contained and tutorial presentation of the diffusion Monte Carlo method for determining the ground state energy and wave function of quantum systems is provided. First, the theoretical basis of the method is derived and then a numerical algorithm is formulated. The algorithm is applied to determine the ground state of the harmonic oscillator, the Morse oscillator, the hydrogen atom, and the electronic ground state of the H2+ ion and of the H2 molecule. A computer program on which the sample calculations are based is available upon request.Comment: RevTeX 3.0, 14 pages, 8 EPS figures (included

Alliance for jobs: Is Germany following in the path of competitive corporatism? By Reinhard Bispinck and Thorsten Schulten

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