How does trust shape the world of work across Europe? Our second country spotlight: 🇮🇪 Ireland

July 28, 2025

Ireland’s industrial relations system follows a liberal pluralist model rooted in voluntarism, where collective bargaining is not legally mandated and occurs mostly at company level.

As of 2024, collective bargaining coverage stands at 34% and union density at 25%  (Eurofound, 2024).

While national forums like the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) facilitate tripartite dialogue, collective  bargaining remains decentralised and fragmented across private sectors like banking, transport, and metal.

The study shows that trust between social partners varies widely across companies. Where union-management relations are strong and institutions like the Workplace Relations Commission or Labour Court are respected, trust supports conflict resolution and collaborative problem-solving.

The study highlights that relational trust, built on continuous interaction and shared values, is critical for maintaining  dialogue in the absence of strong legal support.

Challenges lie in the system’s reliance on personal relationships and limited statutory institutional supports, which makes it vulnerable to disruption by leadership turnover, crises such as COVID-19, and failure to uphold collective agreements.

Nonetheless, there are opportunities to consolidate trust  by maintaining consistent engagement, strengthening mutual understanding, and leveraging high trust-based areas like health and safety to model deeper cooperation.

📄 Want to learn more? Read the report authored by Margaret Heffernan & Aurora Trif from Dublin City University: https://celsi.sk/media/datasource/TRUE_Europe_Ireland.pdf

#TrueEurope #Ireland #SocialDialogue #IndustrialRelations #CollectiveBargaining #Trust

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