Nordic trade unions, the EU and European works councils

Abstract

Nordic trade union approaches to European integration, EU social policies and co-operation in transnational groups, are the issues of this article. With EU-sceptical constituencies, Nordic unions adopted a careful approach to EU membership. Except in Norway none of the main confederations (LOs) took a clear stance. The main sources of union ambivalence were familiar to unions inside the EU: concern about erosion of national labour standards, welfare and union strength,owing to the restrictive economic policies of the EMU, fear of market deregulation and the lack of a credible EU social dimension. Nordic unions support the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) call for a more Social Europe, negotiations covering the whole EEA-area, and qualified majority voting in labour and environmental issues. They are, however, ambiguous towards extension of supra-national authority in other policy areas. With well organised unions, containing one sixth of the ETUC membership and social-democratic governments, the Nordic countries may positively influence the political balance of power in EU/EEA social policies. The European Works Councils Directive will be implemented possibly via collective agreement in Norway, and perhaps Denmark, while the legislative route seems most probable in other Nordic countries. Transnational worker co-operation is establised in roughly one half of major Nordic groups, of which one half includes consultation with management. Current trends suggest further spread of voluntary agreements with a European scope. This accentuates the need for exchange of union experiences concerning skill formation and organisational adaptation to ensure that group level co-operation complements national practices and strategies for Europeanisation of union policies at sectoral and confederallevel, according to Nordic unions.