The work-family balance on the union's agenda

High employment rates of both young parents and women increase the need for good childcare provi-sions. Employers can allocate time and money to their employees for this purpose, and trade unions are the appropriate actors to bargain over the relevant terms and conditions.
But is the employees’ apparent need for childcare provisions reason enough for unions to make it an agenda item? What other factors can play a role in the unions’ agenda setting?


A quantitative analysis of 278 distinct FNV bargaining agendas shows that, contrary to expectations, nei-ther the share of women nor the share of young parents, covered by the collective labour agreement, are related to trade union agenda setting with respect to childcare issues. Rather, central recommenda-tions and history dependence play important roles, along with the concept of communities of practice within FNV unions.