Occupational health inequalities and collective bargaining: a cross-national examination of the gap between migrants and citizens

Abstract

Collective bargaining institutions play a crucial role in determining wages and working conditions, which are both important social determinants of health. We use data from the EU Labour Force Survey (2007, 2013 & 2020), which covers 900,000 individuals across 31 countries. We examine the relationship between collective bargaining coverage and exposure to occupational health risks among migrants and citizens. We find that migrants’ occupational health outcomes exhibit less responsiveness to changes in collective bargaining coverage compared to citizens. Additionally, contrary to expectations, lower levels of coverage correlate with lower reported health risks and fewer work-related health issues. We suggest avenues for future research.