Negotiating collective bargaining agreements – a trend that is gaining ground in the civil service

At a time when France is preparing to bolster the civil service's collective bargaining mechanism to "improve human resources management and working conditions", it is worth observing how this social dialogue tool is used elsewhere in the world. Which countries have made use of it, and if they have, for which category (or categories) of civil servants, or for which professions? What areas do agreements cover?

Although to date seventeen EU countries¹ have ratified the ILO's C151 - Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention – Article 7 of which specifically encourages the development of collective bargaining² – practices vary widely.

In Germany, the "Tarifverträge" are triennial and negotiated between the administration and the trade unions, either at federal level or in each of the 16 Länder. They apply only to employees under contract (60% of the workforce) and mainly concern pay scales and working time. Even if there is no obligation to enact the agreement into law, the result often serves as a guideline for the evolution of the regime applicable to civil servants.

In Canada, the Treasury Board Secretariat is responsible for renewing the 27 collective agreements in negotiation with certified bargaining agents. Arbitration and conciliation procedures are provided for to settle disputes and reach a compromise. However, the agreements cannot directly or indirectly alter or eliminate existing terms and conditions of employment, nor can they establish new terms and conditions, which is a subject for legislation.

In Spain, the process of hiring contract employees and organisational restructuring has, over time, led to an increasing number of "Convenio colectivo" (collective bargaining agreements) that apply to personal laboral (contract workers, who represent the majority of government employees). The government has since undertaken a major consolidation effort to harmonise HR management. They cover a wide range of topics, with the exception of pensions.

In Italy, a national agency (ARAN) is responsible for negotiating all agreements. All public employers (central government, provinces and municipalities) contribute to financing it, and are grouped into 12 sectoral colleges. In a country where 85% of public employees are under contract, this independent institution plays a central role in labour/management relations, which can cover everything except occupational health and safety. It enjoys a large degree of organisational and managerial autonomy.

Collective bargaining in the UK is based on an overarching legislative framework, which does not distinguish between public- and private-sector employees. However, specific negotiated provisions, the "Pay review bodies", exclusively regulate wages for seven categories of public employees³.

In Ireland, the Netherlands (where the status of public employees changed as of 1 January 2020) and the Scandinavian countries, collective agreements, whether national, regional or local, are long-standing and concern almost all staff.

Some countries, such as Greece, Portugal and Slovenia, also have a public sector-specific legal framework, but the number of agreements signed remains fairly limited.

¹ Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

² « Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for negotiation of terms and conditions of employment between the public authorities concerned and public employees' organisations, or of such other methods as will allow representatives of public employees to participate in the determination of these matters ».

³ Armed forces, doctors and dentists, nurses and other health professionals, prison staff, teachers and professors, senior officials.