ABSTRACT
The question posed at the beginning of this volume-whether European collective bargaining is possible-can only be answered in one way from a trade union standpoint: yes. Any other response would be tantamount to a declaration of political bankruptcy on Europe. However, there also appears to be a broader political consensus which extends beyond trade union circles, according to which collective bargaining is a fundamental component of industrial relations in the European Union, and agreement that this should remain so in the future. This was affirmed, for example, in the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (the ‘Social Charter’). This view is not wholly surprising given the fact that industrial relations is regulated for the most part by collective agreement in all member states. In contrast, there are highly divergent and diverse views about the future of collective bargaining in the European Union. Whereas the European Commission, in its 1989 Action Programme on the Social Charter, adheres to the view that the Community has no role to play in this area as all member states recognise the principle of free collective bargaining, the trade unions have called for the principle of collective bargaining to be anchored in Community law with the status of a fundamental right. The European Parliament also views the Commission’s reserve with some scepticism. In an opinion on human rights and basic freedoms published in 1993, the Parliament raises a number of complaints about infringements of trade union rights in several member states.1 However, there is little likelihood that the Community will take up this subject. The Social Protocol of the Maastricht Treaty expressly renounces Community competence in this field.2
