Industrial relations in the print media sector

Observatory: EurWORK Topic:

Date of Publication: 09 August 2006

In many European countries, the print media sector has been at the forefront of the organised
labour movement, creating trade unions and being involved in industrial relations practices. As with
any industry, print media has undergone changes over time and its current transformation may also
be altering its industrial relations practices. The introduction of increasingly advanced technologies,
the relative restructuring and reorganisation of production processes, and the need to create
conditions of economic stability are the key issues for companies in the print media sector. The
reduction of the numbers of workers in this sector has run parallel to other major trends such as
outsourcing, off-shoring and the growth of atypical work. This comparative study looks at recent
trends in the print media sector in Europe in the last few years and shows the impact of these
trends on industrial relations. It focuses on changes in employment levels and practices, the
organisation and views of employers and trade union, and the level of social dialogue and industrial
conflict. The study covers 18 EU Member States.

Introduction 

In many European countries, the print media sector has been at the forefront of the organised
labour movement, creating trade unions as well as the social and union press, and was thus
involved in several of the original social dialogue practices. As with any industry, print media has
undergone changes over time and its current transformations may also be altering its industrial
relations practices. The reduction of the numbers of workers in this sector has run parallel to other
major trends such as outsourcing, off-shoring and the growth of atypical work. Major companies
have outsourced a large part of the work process and freelance projects continue to remain robust
in Europe. However, these employees usually face a level of social protection that is lower than that
of other workers. In addition, this situation may hinder the social dialogue for all existing parties in
the sector due to a reduced representation of employees.

The wider media sector encompasses a wide range of activities involving the creation, modification,
transfer, and distribution of content for the purpose of mass consumption. Specifically, this sector is
highly regarded for generating the necessary links between media and culture and/or media and
information.

A wide range of industries can be considered as belonging to the media sector, most notably:
television, radio broadcasting, film, recorded music, and the printed press. More recently, the
internet has provided a new outlet through which media content can be distributed.
Of particular interest is the sub-sector of print media, the focus of this study. Print media comprises
two fields, publishing and printing, as specified in the classification of economic activities in the
European Communities (NACE):

NACE code Description

22.12 Publishing of newspapers

22.13 Publishing of journals and periodicals

22.21 Printing of newspapers

22.22 Printing of periodicals

Workers belonging to the print media sector are categorised in two main groups: printers (who have
been traditionally linked to this sector and include all typographical workers such as typesetters and
compositors) and journalists.

Overall, the evolution of the print media sector has been conditioned by several factors: changes in
regulation on competition, concentration of companies, flexible labour regulations, and alterations
in the dynamics of work due to significant technological developments (digital technologies,
telematics, information science, etc.).

This comparative study is based on national reports from the following 18 countries: Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In particular, the study
provides:

a general assessment of recent trends and the prevalent features of the print media
sector over the last few years in the European countries studied;
an analysis of the impact of these trends on industrial relations;
details of the positions and influence of the social partners regarding the sector and its
trends.

Background 

Employment structure and rights 

Trade union and employer associations 

Collective bargaining 

Industrial conflict 