Editor's note

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 15:04

Activating social dialogue for the Baltic States

Eugene Eteris, BC’s International Editor, Copenhagen, 21.03.2016.Print version

Social issues have been a high EU priority during the whole Union’s integration history, at least theoretically. Now, the Commission wants to turn these issues into a reality; the message is clear: social partners in the states have to be more active in shaping progressive and modern economic development.

Although social issue have been at the front of initial Community’s agenda, it was the former Commission President Jacques Delors who made “serous” steps to “unite” existing at the time European social policy organisations to implement “social market economy” ideas. These steps have been done according to the so-called Val Duchesse social dialogue proposal in 1985, i.e. almost 30 years after the first Community’s integration efforts!  

 

This social dialogue was set up in 1985 with the aim of involving into the “social agenda” the main social partners represented at that time by three most influential organisations: the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of Industries of the European Community (UNICE) and the European Centre of Public Enterprises (CEEP).

 

These organisations’ cooperation was deemed to put social policy into the framework of Communities integration, i.e. internal market process. A number of joint statements on employment, education, training and other social issues resulted from the meetings of these social partners in 1985.

“Slow motion” in social dialogue

Some tripartite and bipartite structures existed in Europe for several years. The Single European Act already in 1986 created a legal basis for the development of a ‘Community-wide social dialogue’...

 

In October 1991, UNICE, ETUC and CEEP adopted a joint agreement which called for mandatory consultation of the social partners on the preparation of legislation in the area of social affairs and a possibility for the social partners to negotiate framework agreements at Community level.

 

This request was acknowledged by the member states in 1992 (see the Agreement annexed to the Maastricht Protocol on Social Policy); the agreement was signed by all EU member states with the exception of the United Kingdom and Poland later on.  

 

In 1992, the Social Dialogue Committee (SDC) was established as the main forum for bipartite social dialogue at European level. The SDC currently meets presently three or four times a year and comprises 64 members (32 representing employers and 32 representing workers/trade unions) both from European and national organisations.

 

The process culminated in the adoption of “social dialogue” Directive 2008/104.

Reinforcing social partners’ capacity

The dedicated budget lines on social dialogue and the European Social Fund (ESF) were identified as the appropriate tool to support the capacity-building of social partners.

 

The so-called prerogative budget lines for social dialogue provide more than €30 million a year of funding to promote European social dialogue at cross-industry, sector and company level.

In October 2015, the Commission organised a workshop for managing authorities and social partners on the use of the ESF for the capacity-building of the social partners.

 

A mapping of ESF support to capacity-building of social partners in both the past and current financing periods is being prepared with the managing authorities and social partners and should be available by mid-2016.

 

Thus, at the national level, the social partners were thereby given the “legal opportunity” to implement European social directives by way of collective agreement and bargaining.

 

Employment and trade unions’ organisations in the member states, with different success, managed to modernise social protection; most progressive have been Scandinavian states due to their socially-oriented development models.    

 

In other member states the progress was quite slow until recent EU efforts.

Modern initiatives

During Latvian Presidency in the Council, in March 2015, the European Commission together with the EU social partners organised a high-level conference to kick off a "new start for social dialogue"(see http://ec.europa.eu/social/socialdialogue2015).

 

Presently, there are some well-developed tripartite and bipartite structures in the member states, which produced a range of agreements between social partners and state/public authorities. However, difficult socio-economic conditions connected to the 2008-crisis have made social dialogue difficult.

 

Thus, the Commission has been committed to work more closely with social partners in improving the quality and effectiveness of social dialogue at all levels and to develop solutions jointly for the main challenges facing Europe.

 

President Juncker at his initial steps in the new Commission at the end of 2014 has committed to a new start for social dialogue: see Political Guidelines and Work Programme of the Commission (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4542_en.htm).  

 

To deliver on the initiative, two Commissioners were included in the new Commission with the social affairs’ competence: Vice-President for Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis and “regular” Commissioner for employment, social affairs, skills and labour mobility, Marianne Thyssen. (see more in http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=1).


Thus, already in 2015, vice-president for Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis underlined that the Commission would “activate” employers and workers (trade unions) activity in shaping the member states’ policies. No doubt, these issues are becoming increasingly important considering the Commission’s agenda for the European economic governance while striving for recovery of the European economy in a sustainable and fair way.

 

Commissioner Marianne Thyssen also made a priority a “thriving social dialogue at both EU and national level” as an instrument in economic and social progress. Commission DG is of an opinion that when the social dialogue is strong, economies are becoming more competitive and socially resilient in the member states.

 

The Commission is confident that involvement of social partners in the design and implementation of policies is crucial to strengthen competitiveness and fairness, and is a prerequisite for the functioning of Europe's social market economy.

 

On numerous occasions the Commission underlined that social dialogue could contribute to implementation of EU policies in six specific areas: "the European Semester"; "industrial relations and capacity building at national level"; "the EU's macro-economic strategy"; "social dialogue and better regulation"; "the digital single market" and "skills, education and training needs in a changing working environment".

See more in http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4542_en.htm.

Social dialogue in the Baltics

Hence, the message for the Baltic States is clear: more social dialogues are needed! Social dialogue’s perspectives lie in implementing the commitments made at the start of present Commission (at the end of 2014) as part of the so-called “new start for social dialogue”.

 

The Commission urged the member states to continue efforts in the coming years, guided by the following two main principles:

 

1) EU social dialogue cannot deliver without a well-functioning and effective social dialogue at national level, which requires a corresponding institutional setting.

2) Tripartite concentration, involving public authorities, needs to build upon a strong bipartite social dialogue both at the EU and member states’ level.

 

Only in this way, the EU social market economy, as a fundamental background of EU integration, can really prosper.

See more in http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=1   





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