Sectoral collective bargaining is an aim of trade unions to reach a collective agreement that covers all workers in a sector of the economy. It contrasts to enterprise bargaining where agreements cover individual firms. Generally countries with sectoral collective bargaining have higher rates of union organisation and better coverage of collective agreements than countries with enterprise bargaining. Research by the OECD,OECD (2019), Negotiating Our Way Up: Collective Bargaining in a Changing World of Work (Paris: OECD Publishing), https://doi.org/10.1787/1fd2da34-en. ILO and the European Commission has also linked sectoral bargaining to higher real wages, lower unemployment, fewer strikes and greater wage equality.
European Union In the EU, countries that have sectoral collective bargaining have significantly higher rates of coverage than those with enterprise or individual workplace bargaining.See Collective bargaining coverage from worker-participation.eu Under the Adequate Wage Directive 2022 article 4, a member state with collective bargaining coverage under 80% will be required to make an "action plan" to achieve 80% coverage.
+ Collective agreement coverage by country in 2015 Country Coverage in 2015 System France 98% SectorReforms under Macron have since allowed enterprise agreements to undercut sector agreements. Belgium 96% Sector (and national) Austria 95% Sector Finland 91% Sector (and national) Portugal 89% Sector Sweden 89% Sector (and national) Netherlands 84% Sector (but also enterprise) Denmark 80% Sector (but also enterprise) Italy 80% Sector Norway 73% Sector (and national) Spain 69% Sector (but also enterprise) Slovenia 65% Sector Croatia 61% Sector Malta 61% Enterprise Luxembourg 59% Sector and enterprise Germany 59% Sector and enterprise Ireland 44% Enterprise Czech Republic 38% Enterprise (some sector) Romania 36% Enterprise Slovakia 35% Enterprise Latvia 34% Enterprise Estonia 33% Enterprise Hungary 31% Enterprise (some sector) Bulgaria 29% Enterprise United Kingdom 29% Enterprise (some sector) Poland 18% Enterprise Greece 10% EnterpriseThis has dropped from 65% since 2012, see Lithuania no data% Enterprise, some sector
In 2019, the OECD's estimates for the percentage of collective bargaining coverage was somewhat changed.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 'Collective bargaining coverage: A detailed methodological note' (2019) 19 Collective bargaining coverage has generally fallen across EU member states, and most substantially in Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Germany and Slovenia, though policies to raise coverage have been implemented including (1) better employer organisation, (2) tying public procurement to collective agreements—as in half of German states by 2021—and (3) encouraging more union members.A Hassel, Round Table. Mission impossible? How to increase collective bargaining coverage in Germany and the EU' (2023) 28(4) Transfer], Figure 1
The action plans of member states were mostly submitted in December 2025, according to the Directive, and made available by the ETUC, however Spain, Germany, Bulgaria and Hungary's plans were missing.ETUC, Wage Up Resources
United Kingdom While sectoral bargaining used to be standard in the UK, enterprise bargaining was advocated by the 1968 report of the Royal Commission on Trade Unions and Employers' Associations chaired by Lord Donovan.
United States Sectoral bargaining was promoted by the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, but struck down and replaced by enterprise bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Today industries like screenwriting, hotels, and railroads still see sectoral bargaining predominate.
Australia
Australia has a mixture of federal- and state-level sectoral awards, alongside enterprise bargaining. Awards are decided by application to a government or quasi-judicial tribunal, rather than via direct bargaining. Commonwealth "Modern Awards" and Enterprise Agreements are administered by the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman. State awards were largely supplanted by federal ones following the Fair Work Act of 2009, those remaining are administered and arbitrated by bodies such as the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW, the South Australian Employment Tribunal, and the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission.
See also A Manifesto for Labour Law US labor law UK labour law German labour law
Notes
References
L Fulton, 'Worker representation in Europe' (2015) Labour Research Department and ETUI Collective bargaining coverage from worker-participation.eu