Although it is the case that union membership figures have different
implications in different countries it is quite clear that, in general, the European
countries are more heavily unionised than the United States and, indeed, than
countries in most other parts of the world. Some, such as Germany, France and
the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), have legislation
requiring employers over a certain size to recognise unions for consultative pur-
poses. In France, Greece and Portugal employers have to negotiate with a union
if it can show that it has any members at all in the workplace.
Europe is a highly unionised continent. Trade union membership and influ-
ence varies by country, but is always significant (see Table 7.3). The Scandinavian
countries have union membership averaging three-quarters of the working
population whilst the UK averages around a third. Even in the less unionised
countries such as France, bargaining coverage remains higher than in the USA.
In many European countries, the law requires that trade unions be recognised for
collective bargaining purposes. Indeed, across Europe more than seven out of
every ten organisations with more than 200 employees formally recognise trade
unions (Morley et al., 1996). Furthermore, in most European countries, many
union functions, such as pay bargaining, are exercised at industrial or national
level, outside the direct involvement of organisational managers.
HRM in Europe 177Union density and coverage
1994 1994
Trade union Bargaining
density (%) coverage (%)Austria 42 98
Belgium 54 90
Denmark 76 69
Finland 81 95
France 9 95
Germany 29 92
Italy 39 82
Netherlands 26 81
Norway 58 74
Portugal 32 71
Spain 19 78
Sweden 91 89
Switzerland 27 50
United Kingdom 34 47
Japan 24 21
United States 16 18
Source: OECD Employment Outlook (1997) p. 71, Table 3.3.
TABLE 7.3