Collective bargaining and wages: Challenges for trade unions in the crisis and beyond ACTRAV Symposium on Collective Bargaining Geneva, 13 October 2009 Steffen Lehndorff Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation / University of Duisburg-Essen

Before the crisis: inequality on the rise

* Wages per person employed as % of GDP, 1960-2006; Source: ECFIN (2008: 97) ** Net TU density (BE, NL, FR, DE, IT, UK, IE, DK); Source: ICTWSS database, European Commission (2009)

Where has all the money gone? – The US case Source: Foster/Magdoff

Where has all the money gone? – The German case

2010/2011: Upcoming conflicts “In particular, appropriate wage-setting, sufficient labour market flexibility and effective incentives to work are required. … We will always do whatever is necessary to deliver price stability, whatever the situation.” “As regards fiscal policies, the need for ambitious and realistic fiscal exit and consolidation strategies is becoming increasingly pressing. … Countries’ structural measures should focus on the expenditure side.” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the ECB, 8 October 2009

Work sharing in the crisis : Tackling the wage problem Example: The German short-time working scheme net pay hrs not worked KuG* 67 % total pay net pay net pay employer labour agency * KuG = Short-time work allowance Source: German Ministry of Labour

Public social expenditure as % of GNP Source: OECD Social Expenditure Database

Labour input into social services* and female employment (FTE) * Education, health and other social services (NACE 80 + 85) - Source: ELFS; own calculation IAQ

Bargaining on wages: The wider agenda Insisting on the demand-side impact of wages: Towards a wage-led recovery Urging for state support: minimum wages, short-time working etc. Preventing „consolidation“ at the expense of social benefits … … and beyond: Public social services as growth and employment engine