Industrial Relations in Europe 2012 - European Commission - Europa

employees (Angestellte and Arbeiter 37 ), governed by private law and with the same rights as their
private sector counterparts. The ratio between the two groups has been relatively stable over time
(Keller 2011). Even after privatisation, a large number of German railways and postal service
employees retain the status of Beamte, with the privileges and restrictions attached to this (ETUI
2008). In France, all the fonctionnaires publiques titulaires, which are almost the totality of public
employees, still have a special employment status subject to administrative law and with rather
weak bargaining rights, even after the 2010 law on the renewal of social dialogue in the public
sector (Bordogna and Neri 2011; Tissandier 2010). To a lesser extent, in many other continental
European countries there is a group of public employees with a special employment status (Austria,
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic,
Poland, and Romania), although precise employment conditions may vary from country to country,
and a reduction in special prerogatives, in the direction of harmonization with the private sector, has
recently taken place, driven partly by economic pressures (see for instance Greece, in Ioannou
2012). Further, the proportion of this group in terms of total public sector employment, while
usually higher in the central government/public administration sector, varies across countries (see
also various national studies in Vaughan-Whitehead 2012).
In brief, while the right to organise is most unproblematic and the right to strike is most problematic
for public sector employees throughout the different countries, the picture is more varied and
uncertain with regards to collective bargaining rights. In many countries this right, at least for
certain groups of public sector workers, “is widely restricted or is embedded in specific structures
and procedures that do not allow for the same bargaining rights, coverage and results as in the
private sector” (Clauwaert and Warneck 2008: 22-23; also Gernigon 2007; Casale 2008).
3.5 Trade unions and employers
Public sector industrial relations often display peculiar features not only in terms of the regulation
of employment relations, but also with reference to representation, both on the employee and the
employer sides.
First, union densities are systematically higher than in the private sector (see for instance Visser
2006, Pedersini 2010a). Of course, this concerns the sections of public sector employment with full
right of association (which, as mentioned above, is the least problematic element of industrial
relations in the public sector and can be regarded as generally available). The main reason for this is
the positive attitude that public employers typically have with respect to recognition of the role of
trade unions, which often takes the form of promotional measures in terms of special union rights
and prerogatives, for example time off to carry out union activities (Clegg 1976). In practice, public
employees are unlikely to encounter negative attitudes concerning union affiliation from their
employer (while this can happen in the private sector), which may affect their career prospects.
Moreover, given the traditional homogeneous character of terms and conditions of employment in
the public sector, with less room for individual bargaining – although increasing in recent decades,
at least for certain occupations – improvements in terms of higher wages and better working
conditions can be attained essentially by collective action and representation through trade unions.
In other terms, in the public sector, participation costs are lower and the ‘free riding’ alternative is
weaker, as individual advancements are difficult to achieve. In some cases, being part of a union
37 The legal distinction between white and blue-collar employees (Angestellte and Arbeiter) was abolished in 2005 by
collective agreement (TVöD), and since then a new uniform classification system exists for the two groups
(Arbeitnehmer), separated from career civil servants (Beamte).
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