VAN HOEK economy are many. The organisational setup of the unions and employers is one This in turn tends to follow (to a certa in extent) divisions between sectors of the economy used in public law and socal security lw. The system as a whole is not static. Changes in the econom ic environment may cause collective agreements of related sectors to be merged, decentralization tendencies might cause large collective agreements to desintegrate. For further information, see below(trends). Inbetween ectors, unions may actually compete amongst themselves over the representation of a specific group of employees. These so-called border-disputes' on the exact delineation of neighbouring collective agreements will be solved either by bipar borderline commissions or by the negotiating parties. The Minister will not intervene Is such disputes There are close to 200 sector agreements+2 covering 4.4 million employees, or ven 5 million if count ing the effect of general applicability. 43 Close to 800 company agreements cover approx 0. 8 mill ion employees. 4On a total of approx. 7 million employed, this means that most employees are covered by some sort of collective The binding character of collective agreements and their effect on the individual employment contract In Dutch jurisprudence it is common to distinguish between the different ty pes of rovisions which can form a collective agreement. 45On the one hand a collective greement may conta in obligatory chuses which only bind the parties to the collective agreement. On the other hand, collective agreements are charactarized by the fact that they conta in so-called nomative chuses: clauses which regulate the relationship between the individual employee and the individual employer. Other The only relevant example being the bcal agreements for employment in the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam respective One such dispute concemed the sector for mobile cranes: di the workers employed im this sector fall under the agreement for the construction industry or rather the agreement for transport workers?: see the decree on general applicability DCA nr. 7732, Bijv. Start 9 March 1993, no 47, p. 7. Others concern(ed)the pos tion of drivers of security vans being used to transport money ( transport or security?) and workers n the IT-sector(specific agreement, office equipmenthutilities, assembly/metal dusty?: see A. Van Liempt A. van Uffelen, Arbeidsverhoudngen in ontwikkeling het ambivalente karakter van arbeidsvoorwaarden-regelngen n de ICr-sector, SMA 2000p.244-252 4 Such disputes do however affect thepossibility that the Mnster of Social Affairs will declare the agreementto be generally binding: Beleidsregels AVV, Stcrt 1998, nr 240, P. 14, $6.2. 1. 42. Counting only the general agreements which montan all basic labourconditions and excluding special agreements nearly retirement, tranngetc 43 Arbeidsinspectie, voorjaarsrapportage CAO-afspraken 2000, bijlage 4 H.L. Bakek, I P. Ascher-Vonk, W.J.PM. Fase, Schets van het Neder lands Arbeidsrecht, Deventer: Khwer, 1 6th edition 2000, p. 199; P.W. Kamphuisen, De collective en de individuele arbeidsovereenkomst, Leiden 1956, p. 17, F. Konng, De obligator, diagpnale en normative bepalingen van decal, SMA1988, p 175VAN HOEK 10 economy are many. The organisational setup of the unions and employers is one. This in turn tends to follow (to a certain extent) divisions between sectors of the economy used in public law and social security law. The system as a whole is not static. Changes in the economic environment may cause collective agreements of related sectors to be merged, decentralization tendencies might cause large collective agreements to desintegrate. For further information, see below (trends). Inbetween sectors, unions may actually compete amongst themselves over the representation of a specific group of employees. These so-called ‘border-disputes’ on the exact delineation of neighbouring collective agreements will be solved either by bipartite borderline commissions or by the negotiating parties. The Minister will not intervene is such disputes. There are close to 200 sector agreements42 covering 4.4 million employees, or even 5 million if counting the effect of general applicability.43 Close to 800 company agreements cover approx. 0.8 million employees.44 On a total of approx. 7 million employed, this means that most employees are covered by some sort of collective agreement. 6 The binding character of collective agreements and their effect on the individual employment contract In Dutch jurisprudence it is common to distinguish between the different types of provisions which can form a collective agreement.45 On the one hand, a collective agreement may contain obligatory clauses which only bind the parties to the collective agreement. On the other hand, collective agreements are charactarized by the fact that they contain so-called normative clauses: clauses which regulate the relationship between the individual employee and the individual employer. Other 39. The only relevant example being the local agreements for employment in the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam respectively. 40. One such dispute concerned the sector for mobile cranes: did the workers employed in this sector fall under the agreement for the construction industry or rather the agreement for transport workers?: see the decree on general applicability DCA nr. 7732, Bijv.Stcrt. 9 March 1993, no. 47, p. 7. Others concern(ed) the position of drivers of security vans being used to transport money (transport or security?) and workers in the IT-sector (specific agreement, office equipment/utilities, assembly/metal industy?:, see A. Van Liempt & A. van Uffelen, Arbeidsverhoudingen in ontwikkeling, het ambivalente karakter van arbeidsvoorwaarden-regelingen in de ICT-sector, SMA 2000, p. 244-252). 41. Such disputes do however affect the possibility that the Minister of Social Affairs will declare the agreement to be generally binding: Beleidsregels AVV, Stcrt 1998, nr. 240, p. 14, § 6.2.1. 42. Counting only the general agreements which contain all basic labourconditions and excluding special agreements on early retirement, training etc. 43. Arbeidsinspectie, voorjaarsrapportage CAO-afspraken 2000, bijlage 4. 44. Idem. 45. H.L. Bakels, I.P. Ascher-Vonk, W.J.P.M. Fase, Schets van het Nederlands Arbeidsrecht, Deventer: Kluwer, 16th edition 2000, p. 199; P.W. Kamphuisen, De collectieve en de individuele arbeidsovereenkomst, Leiden 1956, p. 17; F. Koning, De obligatoire, diagonale en normatieve bepalingen van de cao, SMA 1988, p. 175