Description

In contemporary debate the main threat to European trade unions is often associated with the external forces of globalisation. In this issue of TRANSFER we draw attention to the internal union challenges arising from the shift in employment towards private sector services, which, in recent decades, has contributed to the de-standardisation of work and erosion of union membership and power throughout western Europe. Technological progress, rising wealth, productivity, education and female labour market participation, ageing of the population, and changing work-family life relations propel demand for non-tangible products and social services. The shift in the structure of employment has, over the last decades, caused profound changes in the basis for union organisation, recruitment and policies. Today, the service sector accounts for more than two thirds of employment in OECD-countries and in several countries more than half of all jobs are found in private sector services, where union density is markedly lower, than in manufacturing and public services. In many of the fast-growing business and ICT-related services, collective organisation has been virtually absent. The articles in this issue map these and other changes in both economy-wise and sectoral analyses. For the trade unions in Europe these developments raise several challenges ranging from combating unemployment to adjusting union structures and strategies to meet the aspirations of the heterogeneous service workforce, and to gaining influence on the reshaping of employment relations in private service industries. European trade unions are making considerable efforts to renew their organisational structures and policies to reverse membership decline and strengthen their presence in private sector services. A variety of approaches are reviewed in this issue of TRANSFER, including creation of unions for particular groups, digital unions, mergers establishing conglomerate mega-unions, extension of collective bargaining into new areas, and development of new styles of organising. Although the reforms have been insufficient to turn the tide thus far, the range of change cautions against precipitate judgements about the demise of unionism in private sector services.

Coordinators

Table of contents

Editorial

Main articles

• Jon Erik Dølvik and Jeremy Waddington: Private sector services: challenges to European trade unions
• Dominique Anxo and Donald Storrie:The job creation potential of the service sector in Europe
• Gerhard Bosch and Alexandra Wagner: Service economies in Europe - challenges for employment policy and trade union activities
• Steffen Lehndorff:The governance of service work - Changes in work organisation and new challenges for service-sector trade unions
• Alexandra Wagner: Services and the employment prospects for women
• Claudia Weinkopf: Call-centre work: specific characteristics and the challenges of work organisation
• Janneke Plantenga and Chantal Remery: Organisation of work and working times in IT
• Sue Yeandle: Developments in household services in Europe: working conditions and labour relations
• Thomas Haipeter: Banking and finance in France and Germany - New regulations of work and working time. A challenge for the trade unions?
• Florence Jany-Catrice and Steffen Lehndorff: Who bears the burden of flexibility? Working conditions and labour markets in the European retail trade.

News and background

• Ver.di - the controversy over external relations
  (Berndt Keller)
• Launch of virtual union for 'labour market nomads' in Norway
  (Jon Erik Dølvik)
• Transport and service unions joining forces in Norway?
  (Espen Løken)
• Austrian union responses to the rise in dependent self-employed workers
  (Sabine Blaschke)
• The unions for atypical workers inItaly
  (Giovanna Fullin)
• The Professional Footballers' Union and the Portuguese social security regime
  (Maria Luisa Cristovam)
• Free trade in services within the European Union?
  (Andrew Watt)
• New landmark in the EU social dialogue: the telework agreement
  (Stefan Clauwaert)
• Staff development to secure the future: the IG Metall trainee programme
  (Joachim Beerhorst, Rainer Gröbel, Susanne Scholtyssek)

Book reviews

• D. Anxo and D. Storrie (eds.)
  The job creation potential of the service sector in Europe
  (Hedva Sarfati)
• Jochen Clasen (ed)
  What future for social security?
  (Maria Jepsen)
• Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Marino Regini (eds)
  Why deregulate labour markets?
  (Ben Valkenburg)

Reports

• Spanish presidency seminar on social security and new forms of work organisation, Toledo, 25-26 April 2002
  (Henri Lourdelle)
• 4th IIRA Regional Congress of theAmericas: 'Trade and Labour Protection: Can the two be made to work together?', Toronto, Canada, 25-28 June 2002
  (Berndt Keller)
• 'EMU 2010' Summer School of the ETUC Employment Committee, Rüno Sweden, 29 June-2 July 2002
  (Andrew Watt)