February 21 st 2013 Strengthening Public Services Social Dialogue in an era of austerity

1. February 21st 2013 Strengthening Public Services Social Dialogue in an era of austerity Stephen Bach Department of Management King’s College, London Stephen.bach@kcl.ac.uk

3. Presentation structure • Aims of EC funded research project • Research approach and model • Social dialogue • Themes:- restriction, resilience & reconfiguration - UK, Czech Republic, Netherlands

4. Research Questions • What have been the main drivers and measures of austerity adopted in each country? • How have these changes been implemented and to what extent has social dialogue contributed to the change process at national, sectoral and decentralised level? • How have institutions of social dialogue influenced industrial relations processes and outcomes in the public services?

5. Research Approach • Czech Republic; Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, UK • Phase 1: meeting with social partners • Phase 2: analysis of national experience - drivers, measures, outcomes • Phase 3: case studies of local government

6. Drivers of Austerity • External/ Internal • High/ Low pressure Austerity Measures • Budgetary cuts • Staffing policies (e.g. replacement ratios) • Alterations in wage fixing Social Dialogue • Tripartism • Collective bargaining • Joint consultation • Cross-border Restriction Resilience Reconfiguration Austerity Outcomes • Employment reductions • Wage cuts • Pay freezes • Pension reform • Work intensification

9. Drivers of Austerity : retrenchment pressures Source of pressure External Market Reaction Italy Lagged Response France Coalition for change Czech Republic Netherlands UK Robust Health Denmark Internal Degree of pressure Low High

10. Outcomes Pay Cuts Czech Republic 10% Italy 5-10% (linked to earnings) Pay Freeze France (2010-2012 index point value) Netherlands (2011-13 central govt; education) UK (2011-2013) Employment reductions Czech Republic (5.5% 2009-12) Denmark (2%: 2010-12) France (5% state administration 2008-10) Italy (10% 2008-14) Netherlands (cuts planned up to 2014) UK (12% 2008-12) Pension Reform Czech Republic Denmark France Italy Netherlands UK

11. Social dialogue • ‘All types of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers, on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy’ ILO • Tripartism • Collective bargaining • Joint consultation • Cross-border – sectoral social dialogue committees

12. Social Dialogue: 3 scenarios • Restriction – interruption & shift to unilateralism • Resilience – institutional maintenance of dialogue - process often more closed/conflictual • Reconfiguration – reform of institutional practice - renewal or erosion • Variation: between and within national cases

13. Restriction • National level: austerity programmes and pay - central government - ‘hollowing out’ of national IR • Czech Republic • Italy • UK • Severity of cuts: less willingness to engage in social dialogue

14. UK Restriction • Austerity measures 2010- - 2010-15/16 £95 billion expenditure reductions - sectoral variation: local government 27% cut • Coalition government policy:- 2 year wage freeze (2011-13); 1% (2013-14) - restrictions on trade union facility time- marketisation/fragmentation • Outcomes – main adjustment employment

16. Consequences: Disputes

17. Resilience and Reconfiguration • Denmark • France • Netherlands • Influences on findings: - employer and union strategy- differences model employer (joint regulation) v. sovereign employer (legal regulation) traditions

18. Main Findings – Czech Republic ZuzanaDvorakova Alexandra Stroleny

19. Introduction • Extensive reform since the 1990 • 2010: fiscal consolidation & austerity VS. structural reforms • Social dialogue = fragile

20. Social Dialogue • National: • 2006-9 govt :Topolánek • 2009-10 ‘caretaker govt’: Fischer • 2010 -current govt: Necas • Sectoral-level: no collective agreements(CA) • Enterprise-level: CA possible Scope same as before crisis (law almost unchanged)

21. Main Measures • Pension Reform: Public Pillar • 10 percent cut in the budget for public-sector wages – excluding teachers • public sector pay frozen until 2014shift from automatic progression to pay system based on merit/ performance appraisal

22. Agreed level of wage increases (%)

24. Conclusion • Austerity • Cuts: Employment & wages • Social Dialogue • Restriction • small size of municipalities

25. Public services in the aftermath of the economic crisis: how social dialogue influences changes in public sector employment relations in the Netherlands Peter Leisink Ulrike Weske Eva Knies

26. Overview of austerity measures * Budget cuts in billion of Euro’s

27. Consequences of quantitative and structural measures Quantitativemeasures: • wagerestraint/freeze: centralgovernment, primaryeducation • employment cuts through efficiency targets instead of nr. of jobs • estimated effect: 26.000 jobs until 2015 (almost 10% of totalgovernment jobs) Mix of structuralandquantitativemeasures • decentralization of responsibilityforspecific public services (provision of shelteredworkplaces, youthcare) tolocalgovernment but withless budget (10-20% efficiency cut) Structural reform of employment relations: • From traditional employment security to “from job to job” support • measuressupporting employees’ employability

28. Differences between sectors Differencesbetween sectors in the degree of direct influencebycentralgovernment • Central government: Minister of the Interior is alsoemployer • PrimaryEducation: Minister of Educationdetermineswagesandprimaryemploymentconditions • Hospitals: employersandunions are relativelyautonomous • Localgovernment: employersandunions are formallyautonomous; but interferencefromcentralgovernment Differences in consequences: • wage freeze in central government and primary education but not in local government and healthcare Differences in leewayforsocialdialogue

29. Role of central government (2) Very strong central government influence Very weak central government influence Central government Local government Hospitals Primary education

30. Role of social dialogue Overall: resilienceof social dialogue institutions and practices • Industrial relations actors: no efforts to marginalize the social dialogue; ‘normal’ employment relationships Restriction tendencies in central government and education • Unilaterally imposed wage restraint/freeze Reconfiguration tendencies in local government • Sectoral level: collective labour agreement of the future; new substantive arrangements, ideas about rearranging negotiation authority between sectoral and local level • Local level: works council Zwolle pro-active participation in plans for job mobility platforms, public-private partnerships

31. Questions • Are challenges to social dialogue by shift to unilateralism temporary or more long-term? • To what extent is restriction, resilience or reconfiguration dominant....at national, sectoral, enterprise level? • How can social dialogue be reformed and strengthened to meet new challenges?