Guidelines aimed at improving European coordination of collective bargaining on pay were adopted in September 1999 by the European Trade Union Federation - Textiles Clothing and Leather (ETUF-TCL). The Federation hopes subsequently to negotiate a European sectoral pay agreement.
On 2-3 September 1999, the European Trade Union Federation - Textiles Clothing and Leather (ETUF-TCL) adopted guidelines on collective bargaining coordination, in the form of an internal sectoral protocol. The guidelines constitute the latest step towards the promotion of social dialogue and the coordination of collective bargaining policy in the sectors covered by ETUF-TCL. European-level social dialogue in these sectors has so far resulted in developments such as a code of conduct on minimum human rights at work (EU9709150N) and a charter on child labour (EU9810131F).
Efforts to introduce more coordination into collective bargaining form part of a wider trade union response to counteracting the risks of "social dumping" in the framework of EU Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) (TN9907201S). Other recent trade union bargaining coordination initiatives include the September 1998 "Doorn declaration" by Belgian, German, Luxembourg and Dutch union confederations (DE9810278F) and the European Metalworkers' Federation's resolution on the coordination of collective bargaining policies, adopted in December 1998 (DE9812283F).
The main objective of the new ETUF-TCL protocol is stated as defending workers' purchasing power against inflation and encouraging the growth of purchasing power through "a fair distribution of productivity gains between capital and work", although national federations will retain full autonomy in the implementation of these objectives. The protocol states that this aim forms part of a wider objective of granting all workers in this industry fair wages, employment development and the improvement of living and working conditions. The final objective is to define a "real network of joint minimum rights which would benefit all workers in this industry".
ETUF-TCL member organisations are required to include the terms of this protocol in national wage negotiations before 2000-1. This is intended to pave the way for the negotiation of a European agreement on pay in ETUF-TCL's sectors before 2002-3. ETUF-TCL will assess the implementation of the protocol on an annual basis, and its executive committee will decide when to seek to initiate negotiations with employers at European level on the subject of a sectoral agreement on pay.