Are collective bargaining models in the Nordic countries able to secure a living wage?Experiences from low-wage industries

2021 ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
Kristin Alsos ◽  
Kristine Nergaard
2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Alsos ◽  
Kristine Nergaard ◽  
Andreas Van Den Heuvel

To date the Nordic countries have not had a public debate on living wages, in contrast to many Anglo-Saxon countries. This does not mean, however, that the concept of a living wage is alien to them. In this article we examine whether wage-setting mechanisms in the Nordic countries promote and secure a living wage for all employees, and how trade unions have approached the concept of a living wage.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laust Høgedahl ◽  
Henning Jørgensen

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">The Nordic countries are renowned for their high level of unionization and collective bargaining. However, globalization, Europeanization, and an increasing individualization are often pictured as factors suppressing collective regulation. In this article, we look at the developments in the regulation of wages and working conditions from a macro perspective by combing two large cross- sectional surveys into a longitudinal study with point of departure in the Danish case. We find that collective bargaining coverage continues to stand surprisingly strong, both in terms of being very widespread and in employee awareness, but Danish wage and salary earners also have an interest in extra support in the form of generalization and/or a politically regulated minimum wage </div></div></div>


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Xiaohan Sun

Labor conflicts can be solved by an efficient collective bargaining system with consensus-based. Since the economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19, employers have been shut down or have had to reduce operations drastically and many employers want to furlough or dismiss employees under certain circumstances in China. Meanwhile, many workers have lost income. Since workers have gone back to the worksite in March 2020, labor unrest has spread out in order to ask for wage arrears in the manufactory, construction, and service sectors in terms of strikes map from China Labor Bulletin. The paper targets on three different countries with top economies, and examines its bargaining models to keep industrial peace. The paper argues that China bargaining model under state-control strongly depends on government intention for intervention where there is labor unrest, and the system less focuses on self-governance which may result in a hard time to maintain industrial resources, even though the state issued the related policies to highly encouraged companies to hold a negotiation before the lay off workers, reduce wages or work time in order to be employed. While fewer polices and China traditional command-and-control regulation models could not provide an efficient approach to relief labor unrest in the pandemic, Germany's bargaining model is more flexible to provide an example for new governance and co-determination. Also, the bargaining model with sector-level reforms could do more for the United States private sectors in order to the corporation instead of adversarialism. From a comparison among three collective bargaining models, the paper concludes the approaches to protect workers’ rights from global perspectives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew Johnson ◽  
Aristea Koukiadaki ◽  
Damian Grimshaw

This article critically evaluates the mixed fortunes of the Living Wage in the UK since its introduction in London nearly 20 years ago. The evidence shows that the gains in hourly pay have been significant, and have been achieved at little or no cost to jobs or working hours. An adequate living wage is therefore a necessary factor in reducing labour market inequality and eradicating in-work poverty. However, the UK case demonstrates that a living wage is not a sufficient factor in the absence of both a coordinated approach for universal implementation and linkages with effective collective bargaining. Poor coordination explains the very low proportion of low-wage workers covered by a voluntary Living Wage. Weak links with collective bargaining mean that even where a Living Wage is introduced by a low-wage employer, further positive wage ripple effects (e.g. by sustaining wage differentials) are rare. The argument advanced here is that while employers increasingly perceive voluntary accreditation with the Living Wage Foundation as an important symbol of ‘business ethics’, the Living Wage remains a relatively isolated wage-setting instrument in the UK. This is the result not only of the voluntarist nature of the campaign but also of the limited scope for direct interaction with other wage-setting mechanisms in the UK, despite evidence of positive complementarity between a living wage and collectively bargained pay structures. The article concludes by exploring different mechanisms through which the Living Wage could be extended and embedded across low-wage labour markets.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 790-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul John Sellers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the value that UK trade unions now place on the living wage. Design/methodology/approach The author is the TUC’s Pay Policy Officer and examines the issue from a practitioner’s perspective. Findings The living wage now has a well-established place within the hierarchy of pay demands adopted by UK trade unions. This continues a tradition of unions supporting norms and regulations as an adjunct to collective bargaining. However, support had to be achieved through a process of negotiation with the broader UK living wage campaign. Practical implications The paper concludes that there are good prospects for the living wage, and thus for the continued trade union support. Social implications The living wage standard is seen as having a strong moral basis, which often helps to win agreement with good employers. This results in a steady stream of workers out of in-work poverty. The credit for such pay increases is often shared between employers and trade unions. Originality/value The paper is written by a practitioner with inside knowledge and experience of the entire course of the living wage campaign in the UK and how it has been adopted and integrated by trade unions.


2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torgeir Aarvaag Stokke ◽  
Christer Thornqvist

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (S2) ◽  
pp. S29
Author(s):  
P. Kulling ◽  
S. Ryborg ◽  
Söder MD ◽  
H. Briem ◽  
T. Roscher-Nielsen
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