Third workshop on developing multi-employer bargaining: focus on the Slovakian Finance sector

Until a couple of years ago, workers’ wages and working conditions in the Slovakian banking and insurance sectors, were set on a sectoral level. Whether you were working in one bank or the other, the same minimum rights applied to you.

However, employers in the country recently decided that collective agreements would only be negotiated at company level. This means that many workers were left without a collective agreement and the rights stemming from it, and that employee rights across banks or insurance companies were quite different from each other.

To make front to this, the Slovak finance sector union OZBP together with UNI Europa has mobilised and invested into strategies to strengthen and develop multi-employer bargaining in the sector. Over 20 branch presidents, shop stewards and union officials came together on 6 and 7 June in a UNI Europa led workshop to discuss and develop strategies for multi-employer bargaining. During the 2-days event participants explored the power dynamics within the sector, the power resources available to the trade unions, and possible strategies to develop the sectoral level of collective bargaining.

The workshop took place in the framework of the EU funded ‘Level-up’ project which focuses on multi-employer bargaining and fostering dialogue and collaboration to strengthen sector collective bargaining.

You can also learn more about the first and second workshops.