Sectoral collective bargaining
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, 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. 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.| Country | Coverage in 2015 | System |
| France | 98% | Sector |
| Belgium | 96% | Sector |
| Austria | 95% | Sector |
| Finland | 91% | Sector |
| Portugal | 89% | Sector |
| Sweden | 89% | Sector |
| Netherlands | 84% | Sector |
| Denmark | 80% | Sector |
| Italy | 80% | Sector |
| Norway | 73% | Sector |
| Spain | 69% | Sector |
| 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 |
| Romania | 36% | Enterprise |
| Slovakia | 35% | Enterprise |
| Latvia | 34% | Enterprise |
| Estonia | 33% | Enterprise |
| Hungary | 31% | Enterprise |
| Bulgaria | 29% | Enterprise |
| United Kingdom | 29% | Enterprise |
| Poland | 18% | Enterprise |
| Greece | 10% | Enterprise |
| Lithuania | no data% | Enterprise, some sector |
In 2019, the OECD's estimates for the percentage of collective bargaining coverage was somewhat changed. 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 better employer organisation, tying public procurement to collective agreements—as in half of German states by 2021—and encouraging more union members.
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.