Collective bargaining is the most important tool for ensuring quality jobs, good working conditions, and adequate wages that provide a decent standard of living. Over the past 20 years, however, collective bargaining coverage across the EU has steadily declined.
The European Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the EU acknowledges the important role of collective bargaining in ensuring adequate (minimum) wages and good working conditions. One of its key measures is the obligation to establish a national action plan to promote collective bargaining in countries in which coverage is below 80%. Since only nine EU Member States currently meet this threshold, 18 are required to establish such an action plan. Although the deadline for the establishment of the action plan was the end of 2025, only nine of the 18 countries have submitted their action plans to the European Commission.
Three months after the submission deadline, this event aims to take stock of recent developments and to discuss how measures at the EU level can support Member States in formulating and implementing action plans with concrete measures that will progressively increase collective bargaining coverage.