In September 2000, the "Doorn group" of trade unions from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands held their fourth annual meeting. The unions jointly evaluated the results of the 2000 pay bargaining rounds in the four countries, in the context of the "coordination formula" that they had agreed two years previously, whereby they should seek pay settlements that correspond to the sum total of increases in prices and in labour productivity. Furthermore, the unions decided to improve their cooperation on non-wage bargaining issues, such as working time and continuing training.
On 7-8 September 2000, more than 50 leading representatives of trade unions from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands met in Luxembourg for the fourth annual joint meeting of the "Doorn group". As well as major sectoral unions, the participants represented the major national confederations, as follows:
In addition, representatives from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the European Trade Union Institute, the European Commission and the Luxembourg Ministry of Labour were invited to participate as observers in the meeting.
The "Doorn group" takes its name from the Dutch town where in 1998 the unions concerned adopted a joint declaration which epxressed a strong need for close cross-border coordination of collective bargaining within the EU Economic and Monetary Union (DE9810278F). The Doorn declaration represented the first time that unions from different European countries had determined a set of joint bargaining guidelines. In order to prevent possible downward competition in wages and working conditions, the unions involved agreed to
The "Doorn group" decided to hold an annual summit conference of leading representatives from the major national union organisations involved, while in between annual meetings a small transnational working group should organise a regular and intensive exchange of information on current developments in collective bargaining. The transnational working group has since established a very close cooperation network and meets every two or three months.
One of the major tasks of the 2000 annual meeting of the Doorn group was an evaluation of the 2000 pay bargaining rounds in the countries involved. According to figures from the national trade union organisations, average pay increases achieved in 2000 varied between 4.5% in Luxembourg, 3.6% in Belgium, 3.5% in the Netherlands and 2.3% in Germany in 2000 (see table below). In terms of the Doorn coordination formula, only Belgium was able to use up the full "distributive margin" of the total sum of inflation and productivity growth, while in the other countries pay rises were either slightly (Luxembourg and the Netherlands) or more significantly (Germany) below that margin. This contrasted with 1999, when pay rises almost used up the full distributive margin in all countries, while Germany saw pay increases much above the distributive margin (DE9909215N). Over the whole 1999-2000 period, however, pay bargaining outcomes in all four countries seem to have been in accordance with the Doorn coordination formula.
| Country | Year | Inflation (A) | Productivity (B) | Distributive margin (A B = C) | Pay rise (D) | Utilisation of margin (D - C = E) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 1999 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 0.2 |
| . | 2000 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 0.0 |
| . | 1999/2000 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 0.2 |
| Germany | 1999 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| . | 2000 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 2.3 | -1.8 |
| . | 1999/2000 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 5.6 | 5.5 | -0.1 |
| Luxembourg | 1999 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 3.1 | -0.1 |
| . | 2000 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | -0.4 |
| . | 1999/2000 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 8.3 | 7.7 | -0.6 |
| Netherlands | 1999 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 0.2 |
| . | 2000 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| . | 1999/2000 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 6.7 | 6.3 | -0.3 |
* Figures are based on information from the national trade unions and are not 100% comparable; figures for 2000 are based on provisional data.
Source: Doorn group, 6 September 2000.
In discussions on the prospects for the 2001 pay round, it was evident that Germany will again not fulfil the criteria of the Doorn declaration, since most 2000 pay settlements have a two-year term, determining even lower pay increases for 2001 than for the current year (DE0007270F). The Belgian trade unions emphasised that the pay moderation in Germany will have an direct impact on their own forthcoming pay negotiations, since the Belgian law on competitiveness recommends that pay increases should not be higher than those in the neighbouring countries (BE0008323F). Nevertheless, the Belgian unions announced that they would try to fulfil the "Doorn coordination formula" in the 2001 bargaining round. In return, the German trade unions promised to discuss the negative impact of German pay moderation on pay bargaining in the neighbouring countries at the next meeting of DGB's collective bargaining committee and ensure that they stick to the aims of the Doorn declaration.
At the September 2000 annual meeting, it became clear that there are still many methodological and statistical difficulties in comparing pay developments, and that, therefore, the figures presented show only some general trends without having 100% comparability. There has also been a general agreement among the unions involved that the Doorn formula should not be reduced to a static mathematical formula, but should be seen as a general policy orientation on how to prevent mutual "wage dumping".
The Doorn declaration also makes it clear that, in the fulfilment of the Doorn formula, not only pay rises should be considered, but also other issues covered by collective agreements which are sometimes rather difficult to calculate in terms of their cost effects. Non-pay issues played an important role in the 2000 collective agreements, with examples including:
There was a general consensus among all the unions involved that, after four years of existence, the Doorn group must now enter into a new stage and intensify its transnational cooperation. Under the slogan of "improving coordination of collective bargaining policy in euro-land", the unions published a joint press release at the Luxembourg conference in which they presented their work projects for the period until the next annual meeting in Belgium in September 2001.
First, the unions have agreed to continue their coordination on pay policy on the basis of the Doorn formula. Since the Luxembourg meeting showed that there are significant methodological difficulties in calculating the "value" of the provisions of collective agreements, as well as different national interpretations of the meaning of the formula itself, the unions resolved to organise a joint workshop with trade union and external experts on these issues.
Second, the Doorn group has decided to improve its cooperation on non-wage aspects of collective bargaining policy. The unions agreed to concentrate on the issues of working time and continuing training and to organise joint workshops on these topics. The small transnational working group has been given the task of assessing whether a joint transnational collective bargaining project on these issues is possible in the medium term. At the next annual meeting, the unions will decide whether or not to launch a joint transnational campaign on some non-wage issues in collective bargaining policy.
Third, the Doorn unions called for further improvement of the day-to-day exchange of information on trade unions' demands, ongoing negotiations and new collective agreements, as well as on macroeconomic data for the countries involved. As one means of improving information exchange, the Doorn group plans to set up its own World-Wide Web page
Finally, the Doorn group issued a political statement on the current debate on the EU Charter of fundamental rights (EU0008268F). In the presence of the Luxembourg Minister of Labour, Francois Biltgen, the unions strongly endorsed ETUC's criticism of the current draft Charter and called for the introduction of social and trade union rights - in particular the right to strike, which is seen as a major precondition for a further "Europeanisation" of collective bargaining.
The fourth annual meeting of the Doorn group showed once again that unions from the Benelux countries and Germany have become pioneers in transnational trade union coordination of collective bargaining policy. The open and self-critical atmosphere in which the unions at the September 2000 meeting evaluated their recent pay bargaining rounds, and had to admit that they had partially failed to meet the Doorn coordination formula, can be seen as a sign of the strength and seriousness of the cooperation between the unions.
There is a hidden logic behind all transnational cooperation projects, whereby a standstill in activities generally leads to a step back in the quality of the cooperation. This has been clearly recognised by the doorn group which is therefore seeking to intensify and broaden its cooperation. If the group succeeds in this aim, it may continue to give an important impetus to the whole European trade union movement. (Thorsten Schulten, Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI))