Evaluation of Quality in Industrial Relations

Dr. Christos A. Ioannou ELINYAE-Greece

European Conference: Social and Labour Market Policies - Investing in Quality, Brussels, February 22, 2001

How evaluate the quality of industrial relations?

Systems

of IR remain national: Governments and Social Partners option evaluation may include aspects from working conditions to pay determination/ formation. Between lie employment indicators Conditions should be considered as the basic indicator of quality in IR to create and use indicators on both IR processes and outcomes.
Need
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IR

Working

Process Indicators


on working conditions: process requirements of Framework Directive (coverage of labour force and companies by workers representatives for H&S, awareness of employees and HR managers on availability of company risk assessment) on types of pay and IR regulation: individual or collective (coverage of labour force and companies by collective agreements)
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Process Indicators


on types of individual IR regulation: coverage of labour force and companies by active HRM policies (employee attitudes surveys, various types of circles quality etc.) on types of collective regulation: consultation, participation, bargaining (coverage of labour force and companies by various degrees of collective regulation) on types of behaviour in the collective regulation: consensual or conflictual (from recourse to third parties and/or third party intervention to strike activity 3 indicators)

Outcome Indicators

on working conditions (1): comparable national data on accidents at work and occupational diseases. on working conditions (2): cost of occupational accidents and diseases for companies, social security systems, national health systems
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Outcome Indicators


on pay formation (1): general wage growth and productivity growth, I.e. the distribution of productivity gains on pay formation(2): wage drift on pay formation (3): share of flexible elements in final pay (productivity bonus, merit pay, ESOPs, etc).

Data Sources
On working conditions: to build on  a) European Foundation (Dublin) Surveys on Working Conditions  b) Eurostat projects on accidents at work and occupational diseases. On pay and IR regulation: to build on  a) Eurostat data  b) Develop surveys based on national experiences (e.g. British Workplace Industrial Relations survey).

Facts and Views

Need to take into account  a) in the same survey the views of both employees and companies (as the BWIRS does)  b) performance data on working conditions (accidents at work, occupational diseases), collective IR (coverage) and pay determination / formation.
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