Equal opportunities and collective bargaining in the European Union

A case study from Spain on the Metal-printing industry in Catalonia Phase III WP/97/78/EN EUROPEAN FOUNDATION for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions EUROPEAN FOUNDATION for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Equal opportunities and collective bargaining in the European Union A case study from Spain on the Metal-printing industry in Catalonia Phase III by M Carme Alemany EUROPEAN FOUNDATION for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions SUMMARY 1. This report relates to Phase III of the general study of Collective Bargaining and Equal Opportunities being conducted in each Member State of the European Union. 2. Phase III of the project includes a case study. The researchers' task during this phase was to select a "good" collective agreement and study the factors that facilitated the drafting and negotiation of this agreement. 3. In the case of Spain, the collective agreement selected was the one covering the metal-printing industry in Catalonia and, more specifically, the section covering sexual harassment. This is not to say that sexual harassment has been studied purely through this single agreement, but that the case study has focused on analysing the specific aspects of this agreement that can be perceived as "good" and the combination of factors that have influenced its drafting, negotiation and implementation. 4. The first chapter of this report contains an analysis of the situation concerning sexual harassment under Spanish legislation, with a view to providing a clearer perception of the significance of the collective agreement selected. 5. The metal-printing industry produces printed metal containers that are used to package products manufactured by the agri-foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and perfume industries. In production terms, metal-printing is in the metal -processing sector; in marketing terms, it is in the packaging sector. 6. The average company in this sector in Spain engages in a considerable amount of staff and middlemanagement training; by and large, this is above average for the country as a whole. Investment in the metal-printing sector is also above average for Spanish industry, and generally speaking the sector is the target for much multinational investment. 7. Metal-printing is a small sector. In Catalonia, it employ s about 2000 people in the low season but, because of considerable seasonable fluctuations in demand, this figure can rise to 2500 in the peak period. 8. The metal-printing industry is dangerous, very unpleasant and noisy; it has departments for cutting and working the sheets of metal, and processes for applying inks and lacq