Brussels, 25 January 2023
The EU Commission sets out concrete actions for greater involvement of social partners at national and EU level:
Today, the Commission presents an initiative to further strengthen and promote social dialogue with concrete actions at national and EU level. It renews our strong commitment to social dialogue as a cornerstone of the EU social market economy and its competitiveness. The initiative empowers social dialogue to adapt to the changing world of work and new trends on the labour market, against the backdrop of the transitions to a digital and climate neutral economy and the emergence of new forms of employment.
The negotiations between organisations representing employers and workers (social partners) through social dialogue and collective bargaining help improve living and working conditions, such as pay, hours of work, annual leave, parental leave, training, and health and safety measures. They also have a crucial role to play in adapting to changing economic and social circumstances and achieving the productivity gains that are necessary to enhance the competitiveness of European businesses. All this helps to ensure social fairness and democracy at work, and boost Europe’s prosperity and resilience.
Social partners also play a crucial role in times of crisis or change. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they quickly helped to organise health and safety measures at work, and short time work schemes. Social partners are also helping to find balanced solutions to adapting the labour market to the digital age. The close cooperation between employers and employees is also essential to ensuring the efficient organisation of industrial production activities, and to equipping the work force with green and digital skills.
However, the degree and quality of the involvement of social partners varies considerably among countries. At the same time, union membership and the share of workers covered by collective agreements at national level is declining (from an EU average of about 66% in 2000 to about 56% in 2019). Newer forms of employment such as platform work and certain groups such as young people are also less likely to be represented, with some sectors like care seeing a near-total absence of collective bargaining.
In this context, the Commission proposes a Council Recommendation, which sets out how EU countries can further strengthen social dialogue and collective bargaining at national level. The Commission also presents a Communication on reinforcing and promoting social dialogue at EU level. Social partners were closely involved in preparing these initiatives.
Enabling social dialogue to thrive at national level
The Commission’s proposal for a Council Recommendation recommends that Member States:
- Ensure the consultation of social partners on the design and implementation of economic, employment and social policies according to national practices.
- Encourage social partners to look at new forms of work and atypical employment, and to communicate widely about the benefits of social dialogue and on any collective agreements put in place.
- Enable an increase in workers and employers’ organisations’ capacity, for instance ensuring they have access to relevant information and ensuring support from national governments.
The proposed Council Recommendation fully respects national traditions as well as social partners’ autonomy. It allows Member States to determine how to best achieve these objectives, taking into account their specific circumstances.
Promoting social partners’ involvement at EU level
To further promote the role of social partners in EU policy making and reinforce sectoral social dialogue at EU level, the Commission proposes a set of measures to:
- Reinforce European sectoral social dialogue by modernising its framework, in close collaboration with EU social partners, through a possible revision of the current rules.
- Continue to support social partner agreements, notably through administrative support and legal advice.
- Strengthen social partners’ involvement in EU policymaking, for instance by gathering the views of the European cross-industry social partners on EU policy priorities ahead of the Commission Work Programme.
- Make the EU’s technical and financial support for social partners more effective. For instance, the Commission will set up, in cooperation with social partners, a research network for monitoring and promoting EU social dialogue.
In addition, the Commission calls on social partners to negotiate and conclude more social partner agreements and improve the membership and representativeness of both trade unions and employers’ organisations.
The Commission will also continue to promote social dialogue internationally through regular cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and others. The Commission encourages Member States to continue to ratify and effectively implement ILO Conventions.
Next steps
The Commission will follow up, closely working with social partners, on the proposed actions at EU level listed in the Communication.
Member States will discuss the Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation with a view to its adoption by the Council. Once adopted, the proposal invites Member States to submit to the Commission a set of measures, which have been discussed with social partners, to implement this Recommendation. The implementation of the measures will be monitored in the context of the European Semester.
Background
Social dialogue and the involvement of workers is a key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights and an integral part of the 2021 Porto Social Commitment. The Commission announced in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan that it would present an initiative to support social dialogue at EU and national level, as also underlined by Commission President von der Leyen at the 2022 Tripartite Social Summit.
The Commission prepared this initiative with the close involvement of social partners and held exchanges with the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The social dialogue initiative, also mentioned in the Commission Communication “Conference on the Future of Europe, Putting Vision into Concrete Action” of June 2022, makes a significant contribution to the follow-up to the Conference. The social dialogue initiative also contributes to the 2023 European Year of Skills and the Green Deal Industrial Plan as social partners play a key role in supporting skilling, job transitions and EU competitiveness.
For More Information
Proposal for a Council Recommendation on strengthening social dialogue in the European Union
Questions and answers: strengthening social dialogue
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Quote(s)
Social dialogue is essential for our future economic growth and the resilience of our economies. It plays an important role in preserving and strengthening the competitiveness of European business, raising productivity, improving labour conditions and equipping workers with the skills needed to succeed in the green and digital transitions. There are also many examples where social dialogue has helped to improve the design of public policies. Today´s package will support social dialogue so that even more businesses and workers across the European Union can benefit from economic and social progress.
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Every day across Europe, representatives of employers and workers come together to agree on the essence of our working conditions such as pay, hours, and health and safety measures. Social dialogue is a core feature of our European social market economy, but trade union membership is in decline, and many sectors, like care or platform work, are missing out on collective bargaining. To make sure that Europe remains competitive and inclusive, we need strong social dialogue and strong social partners.
Statement by EU Commissioner Schmit:
Thank you, Valdis
Every day across Europe, representatives of employers and workers come together to agree on the essence of our working conditions, such as pay, working hours, health and safety measures, and major issues that affect the functioning of the economy or individual enterprises.
This social dialogue is essential to guarantee fairness and inclusion in the labour market. And, as you have just heard, it is a core element of our social market economy, contributing to building a competitive and more resilient economy.
We all know how important the resilience of our economy and society is in times of big changes.
The objective of this package is to promote this social dialogue all over Europe, taking into account the diversity of how social dialogue functions in the different Member States.
We have different labour market systems which we don’t want to change, but we have a common interest that in all Member States social dialogue is functioning well.
So it is fair to say that strong social dialogue and collective bargaining are in the interests of workers, of employers, and of governments and of the stability of our economy at large.
The context we are living in is very particular. Not only because we are in a period of transformation, but the social landscape is changing. We are facing declining union membership, because the economy is changing, fewer workers covered by collective agreements, and some sectors or types of work completely lacking social dialogue.
With the labour market adapting each day to new forms of work and eco-systems evolving, it is the right time to make sure that this integral feature of our social market economy is fit for purpose and as far-reaching as possible.
We are talking about the digital transition, new business models like platforms, but also the green transformation is impacting many enterprises.
Good cooperation between social partners at company, national and European level is absolutely key to manage these transitions in a successful way. This is what we mean by “just transition”.
It is also a direct response to the Porto Social Commitment, and to implement Principle 8 of the Pillar of Social Rights which calls for increased capacity of social partners to promote social dialogue.
I will now explain what we aim to do with the two texts we are presenting today.
The Communication focuses on how to strengthen social dialogue at European level. This can be done by:
- reviewing the way sectorial social dialogue committee meetings are organised; we want to strengthen the sectorial dimension, there is room for improvement. There are currently 43 sectorial social dialogue committees and there is a demand for a new one on social services. These 43 sectorial committees cover 185 million workers, and about 6 million companies. This shows their importance.
- gathering the views of the European social partners on policy priorities ahead of the Commission Work Programme being decided; and
- encouraging the European social partners to negotiate more agreements amongst themselves, as they are doing now on telework and the right to disconnect.
The Commission will continue to provide legal and administrative support to the social partners, so that where possible, they should find agreements themselves.
The proposal for a Council Recommendation suggests ways in which the Member States can facilitate social dialogue for it to thrive and grow.
We call on Member States:
- To make sure that social partners are consulted when designing and implementing economic, employment and social policies. A good example of this is the Recovery and Resilience Facility when we invited governments to work closely with social partners during the implementation of these plans;
- To encourage social partners to examine new forms of work and a-typical employment;
- To communicate widely about the benefits of social dialogue and about collective agreements that are put in place; and
- To increase workers and employers’ organisations’ capacity, for example by making sure they have access to relevant information and enough support from national governments.
Very simply, to make sure that Europe remains competitive and inclusive, we need strong social dialogue and strong social partners. And this is what our initiatives aim to achieve.
Thank you.
Source – EU Commission
Q&A: Strengthening social dialogue
Brussels, 25 January 2023
Why is social dialogue important?
Social dialogue is a cornerstone of the European social model. A strong social Europe requires strong social partners. Research from the International Labour Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that social dialogue is a key driver for economic and social resilience, competitiveness, fairness and sustainable growth. It is crucial in finding balanced solutions in response to changes in the world of work, also in the context of the green and digital transitions, as well as to unexpected crises, by allowing an adjustment of working conditions and ensuring fairness at work.
According to the 2022 Joint Employment Report, more than half of the measures related to active labour market policies and income protection (like short-time work schemes) put in place by Member States since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak were either agreed by, or negotiated with, social partners.
Social partners also contribute to tackling the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by facilitating the labour market integration of people fleeing the war. Social dialogue can also help strengthen protection at the workplace, for instance by negotiating and implementing collective agreements like the ongoing negotiations on telework and the right to disconnect from work.
What is the state of play of social dialogue across Member States?
There are variations between Member States regarding the framework, structures, processes and effectiveness of social dialogue, including for collective bargaining. They reflect the countries’ different histories and economic and political situations.
Most Member States have a formal national social dialogue set-up, where representatives of employers, trade unions and sometimes the government can discuss general economic and social matters. However, in a number of Member States, social partners lack organisational capacity, which hinders their participation in policymaking and their ability to conclude collective agreements.
In addition, while the share of employers who are members of employers’ organisations has remained relatively stable, both union membership and the share of workers covered by collective agreements at national level have declined significantly in the past decades (from an EU average of about 66% in 2000 to about 56% in 2019), in particular in Central and Eastern Europe.
Newer forms of employment, such as platform work, and certain groups, such as young people, are also less likely to be represented.
How does the Commission promote EU social dialogue?
The Commission works closely with European social partners to make sure EU employment and social policies respond to the needs of workers and businesses. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) outlines the key role of social partners in a social market economy, conferring on them a specific role in EU law-making in the social policy field. Therefore, the Commission consults European social partners on legislative proposals in the social policy area to allow social partners to negotiate agreements, if they so wish (Article 154 TFEU). Agreements of social partners can also be implemented by means of EU law (Article 155 TFEU).
There are well-established cross-industry structures for the EU social dialogue, which include:
- The Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment, which ensures a biannual concertation between the Council, the Commission, and European-level social partners. The Commission President participates in these discussions.
- The Social Dialogue Committee, which is the main forum for cross-industry social dialogue among EU cross-industry social partner organisations. For instance, the EU cross-industry social partners are currently negotiating a new agreement on telework and the right to disconnect.
- The Macroeconomic Dialogue as a forum for the Council, the Commission, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup to exchange views on monetary and budgetary policies and wage developments with European social partners.
- The Employment Committee (EMCO), which organises several seminars with EU and national social partners to discuss topics of particular importance on top of the traditional yearly Social Dialogue review.
- The Social Protection Committee (SPC), which regularly involves social partners in its discussions (for example on pensions, long-term care or access to social protection).
At sectoral level, EU social dialogue covers more than 80% of the EU workforce with 43 Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees representing 65 European employers’ organisations and 15 European trade union federations. They account for over 185 million workers and over 6 million companies across the EU. Besides agreements, each year European sectoral social partners adopt 30 to 50 joint outcome positions on a wide range of topics, such as health and safety at work, working conditions, the impacts of the transition to climate neutrality, digitalisation, skills, labour mobility or gender equality.
What is the aim of the social dialogue initiative?
Social dialogue plays a key role to find balanced solutions in response to changes in the world of work against the backdrop of the transitions to a digital and climate neutral economy and the emergence of new forms of employment (e.g. platform work). A fragmented workforce and increasing flexibility in terms of time and place of work have made it more difficult for trade unions to represent all groups and create specific structures within organisations.
In terms of gender equality, the proportion of women in trade unions varies strongly across the EU. While there is a general trend of a growing number of women members, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions. Social partners’ organisations have taken initiatives to recruit new members or attract underrepresented groups (notably, youth and platform workers) in recent years. However, challenges remain and more could be done to further strengthen social dialogue and harness its full potential to ensure fair transitions.
Against this background, the Commission Communication presented today outlines the EU’s instruments to support national social dialogue and collective bargaining. In addition, the Commission’s proposal for a Council Recommendation provides guidance to Member States on how to best promote social dialogue and strengthen collective bargaining with due respect to the competences of the Member States and the autonomy of the social partners.
What type of funding is available from the EU to support Member States in improving social dialogue?
Member States can make use of available EU funding under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Technical Support Instrument.
Member States who received a country-specific recommendation on social dialogue must spend at least 0.25% of their ESF+ funds on supporting the capacity-building of social partners. Other Member States must allocate an appropriate amount of ESF+ resources to this area.
How have social partners been consulted for this initiative?
Social partners have been closely involved in the preparation of the social dialogue initiative. The Commission organised multiple consultation activities, including seminars and a dedicated hearing with social partners at EU level and dedicated meetings with the leaders of the European cross-industry social partner organisations as well as discussions in the Social Dialogue Committee meetings and exchanges with Member State representatives in the Employment Committee. There was a public consultation on the social dialogue initiative, to which the Commission received 61 contributions, more than half of them coming from social partner organisations. The Commission also held exchanges of views with the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
How does the initiative ensure that national traditions and autonomy of social partners are respected, while promoting social dialogue?
The proposal for a Council Recommendation builds on essential elements of a well-functioning social dialogue in the European Union: the contractual freedom and autonomy of social partners, respect for national traditions, rules and practices, as well as social partners’ autonomy. The proposed Council Recommendation allows Member States to determine how to best achieve its objectives in line with their national circumstances. Member States may entrust social partners with the implementation of the relevant parts of this Recommendation, in accordance with national law or practice where applicable.
For More Information
Proposal for a Council Recommendation on strengthening social dialogue in the European Union