Prof Michael Doherty has contributed to a new UNI Europa report on the state of play in the transposition of the EU’s Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages. The report includes four chapters, each authored by a regional expert, with updates on the ongoing discussions and actions to promote collective bargaining from their respective regions. Prof Doherty’s contribution considers nations with single-employer bargaining and moderate levels of coverage, including Croatia, Ireland, Czechia, Cyprus and Malta.
This publication builds on UNI Europa’s earlier report from April 2024, which outlined trade union strategies to strengthen collective bargaining and provided a wealth of ideas for shaping national action plans. This foundational work highlighted ways to bolster trade unions, increase employer involvement, improve bargaining processes and promote a culture that values collective bargaining. Insights were also drawn from regional workshops organised by UNI Europa in the autumn of 2024 (Bergamo, Dublin, Budapest and Berlin) as part of the EU-funded BC4CB project, fostering dialogue and exchange among trade unionists on how to improve their national laws to achieve the 80 per cent collective bargaining coverage.
Prof Doherty’s piece; ‘Make me good…just not yet? The (potential) impact of the Adequate Minimum Wage Directive’ was published in 2024 in the Italian Labour Law E-Journal. The piece focuses on the implications of the Directive for collective bargaining coverage in the EU, and takes a broadly optimistic view of what the impact of the Directive might be by using the example of Ireland as a case study. The paper looks at the impact the Directive (pre-transposition) has already had in terms of social dialogue and collective bargaining, before turning to consider some of the transposition challenges. In the concluding section, the paper reflects on some lessons that might be of wider application across the Member States.
Prof Doherty is a Full Professor of Law at Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology where he teaches Employment Law to BCL/ LLB students.