Estonia
Key Facts
| Population | 1,340,000 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 33% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 10% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
company |
| Workplace Representation |
union (or authorised workplace representatives) |
| Board-level Representation |
no |
| Company Board Structure |
dualistic |
Trade Union
Union density is low in Estonia at around 10%. It fell sharply in the 1990s, but it now seems more stable. Most union members are organised in two major confederations, one, EAKL, primarily manual the other, TALO, primarily non-manual.
more ...Collective Bargaining
Around a third of employees are covered by collective bargaining in Estonia and by far the most important level for collective bargaining is the company or organisation, with unions negotiating with individual employers. However, the minimum wage is set after negotiations between the union confederations and the employers at national level.
more ...Workplace Representation
Employee representation at the workplace is primarily through unions, or does not take place at all. However, legislation, which came into effect in 2007, allows for the election of employee representatives both where there is a union and where there is not. If there is no union these representatives can be involved in collective bargaining.
more ...Board-level Representation
There is no legal provision for employee representatives to participate at board level in Estonia.
more ...European-level Representation
Estonian members of European bodies linked with European Works Councils and the European Company are normally elected by the general meeting of employees. The arrangements are slightly different when there are several Estonian companies involved.
more ...Health and Safety
Trade unions are the only employee representatives in relation to health and safety. Where there is no trade union, in undertakings with at least 10 employees, workers are entitled to elect ‘agents.
more ...Financial Participation
Employee financial participation in Estonia is present mainly in the form of employee ownership and cooperatives. The importance of employee ownership has been in decline since the beginning of the 90’s, when for a short time employee ownership played an important role in the privatization process. It remained a temporary phenomenon of the early transition period and currently does not enjoy too much attention. Cooperatives, as another form of employee financial participation, are especially strong in the agricultural sector, where they were the main privatization method. As a consequence, employees in the agricultural sector were granted more rights. Profit-sharing schemes are now relatively widespread (abobe the European average).
more ...