Discretion and (de)centralization in wage bargaining in the hospitality, urban transport and waste management sectors: A Study on France
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ABSTRACT
France is a strong example of a close interaction between statutory minimum wage and collective bargaining. This explains why for decades, the minimum wage and collectively bargained wages have evolved in parallel, especially as the revaluation of the statutory minimum wage is automatic and its amount predictable. Despite a strong development towards the decentralisation of collective bargaining at company level, particularly since the 2017 reform, the minimum wage is still an integral part of wage dynamics in France. However, the declining influence of collective agreements on the wage distribution has narrowed the range of negotiated earnings to its lower limit. This downward trend of all low wages toward the SMIC level also squeezes the income dispersion across sectors and undermines the building of a career plan for the employees hired at a low wage rate.