Opinions on trade unions at the company level are shown by sociological surveys. According to the results of sociological research, for example, since 1995 up to 37% (low figure compared to the ones below in the paragraph) of the employed public have had confidence in trade unions. According to some research projects, the level of confidence varies in line with whether those queried are talking about their own company trade union organization, the industry trade union, or higher trade union authorities. For example, according to research project IVVM-9704 in 1997, the greatest confidence was in company trade union organizations (76%), industry trade unions (71%) and lastly higher trade union authorities (62%).
The greater confidence in trade union organizations operating at company level corresponds to the fact that employees see collective agreements at company level as the most effective way of promoting their interests (46% of employees questioned), and not collective
- the abolition of negotiations on fundamental issues concerning the generation and distribution of profit, financial management, investment construction projects, technical development, measures to improve occupational health and safety and employee care,
- the abolition of trade unions’ role in improving employees’ qualifications, including their participation in selecting employees for training courses,
- the requirement for the consent of the relevant trade union authority for immediate dismissal or dismissal with notice has been replaced by a requirement for prior discussion; similarly, the requirement for trade unions’ consent to transferring an employee to another function or workplace etc. has been changed to prior discussion. - plus a number of other significant changes and transformations of existing TU powers.
103 Owing to a lack of interest among members, planned demonstrations in favour of preserving trade union
participation in corporate management came to nothing. The official trade union standpoint today rejects responsibility for financial results, in addition to protecting members’ interests. In practice, however, trade unions often try to extend their labour law powers, consisting in being kept informed and consulted and even joint decision-making. That is demonstrated by the considerable number of collective agreements concluded at the company as well as at sectoral levels.
104 Article 18b paragraph 1 of the Labour Code: “Trade union authorities have the right to participate in labour
law relations, including collective bargaining, under the terms stipulated by law.”
105 This concerns that part of collective agreements where, according to some legal opinions, it is assumed that
those undertakings are not treated cogently by the labour law regulations and can be decided beyond the framework of the law.
106 The MLSA Legislation Division is fundamentally opposed, among other things, to the interpretation that the
existing legislation allows trade unions to extend their powers in labour law relations by means of collective agreements. Even the Association to Support Collective Bargaining, whose published opinions otherwise endorse the validity of the social partners’ endeavour to negotiate greater TU participation in labour law relations, including joint decision making, does not consider agreements embracing such extended powers to be acceptable in the present generally applied labour law form. A contrary opinion is usually maintained by TUs.
107 Not even the Association to Support Collective Bargaining (AKV), whose published standpoints have
otherwise supported the justification of the social partners’ need to negotiate additional participation by trade unions in labour law relations, including joint decision making, regards undertakings containing such extended powers to be inadmissible given present labour law legislation.
bargaining at sector level or agreements under the tripartite system (according to a 1998 research project entitled Changing Employment Relations).
Where respondents had to evaluate trade unions’ real influence in companies, less than half of those questioned between 1994 and the year 2000 considered that influence to be great or partial (see the table below). Other research projects from the same time have confirmed that finding. For example, according to research project IVVM-9704 from April 1997, one in two respondents regarded trade unions authority in companies to be low. In 1999 research projects recorded an increase in the number of respondents convinced that trade unions can influence matters at the workplace.
T a b l e 6 Trade unions’ influence at the workplace, 1994 - 1997 (in %)
1994 1996 1997 1999 2000 Large 5.1 2.8 3.2 6.9 6.1 Partial 39.6 38.6 36.4 47.0 42.4 Subtotal 44.7 41.4 39.6 53.9 48.5 None 39.9 42.0 40.3 36.0 35.7 Don’t know 15.5 16.6 20.1 9.6 15.8
Source: Kadavá, Ch.: The Position of the Trade Unions and their Tasks based on the Current Nature of Labour Relations. Pohledy 3/2001, IVVM primary data set 9904
In the past, trade unions in Eastern Europe were characterised by solidarity not only among co-workers, but also with the company management, the latter also being organized under trade unions, against the state as sole owner (Ishikawa, 1992). The results of a number of empirical surveys in the Czech Republic confirm that this has remained the case among employees. In 1998 a third of respondents (employees) agreed with the opinion that trade unions are supported most strongly by the company management itself (Changing Employment Relations, primary data set, 1998). Other data published reveals that public opinion of trade unions lags substantially behind the pace of their changing role in companies. According to these surveys, respondents’ expectations are substantially out of line with the modern conception of trade unions’ role in companies. The following table gives information on the present opinions of employees on priorities for trade union activities.
T a b l e 7 Responses to the question: Which problems should be primarily addressed by
trade unions? (in %)
ranking %
1 Occupational safety 37.3
2 Relations in the company hierarchy 17.3
3 Redundancy 9.6
4 Problems facing pensioners 8.4
5 Assistance to the unemployed 5.0
6 Pay rises 4.6
7 The health care system 4.8
8 Discrimination at the workplace 4.0 9 Support for company efficiency 2.6 10 Finding work following redundancy 2.4
11 Retraining 1.6
12 Implementing rationalisation 1.5
13 Employees’ reactions 0.4
14 Child care for employees 0.3
15 Sexual harassment 0.2
Source: Kadavá, Ch.: The Position of the Trade Unions and their Tasks based on the Current Nature of Labour Relations. Pohledy 3/2001
Those findings correspond to the results of other research projects. For example, respondents in 1999 quite understandably expect trade unions primarily to protect their interests; paradoxically the expectation that trade unions will bargain collectively with employers comes in last, even below organizing out-of-work activities (see the table below). That does not, of course, reflect the role of trade unions, but it is perhaps more of a subjective evaluation of the significance of company collective agreements in companies today.
T a b l e 8 Responses to the question: What does the public expect from trade unions?
(in %)
ranking %
1 Defending workers’ interests 54.8
2 Protection of workers 16.6
3 Defending trade unionists interests 8.9 4 Resolving workers’ problems 6.4 5 Compliance with the Labour Code 5.7
6 Others 3.8
7 Spare time activities 1.9
8 Collective bargaining 1.9
Source: Primary data set IVVM 99