The European Commission presented this Wednesday an initiative to “further strengthen and promote social dialogue”, with concrete actions at the national and European Union levels, following up on a commitment made at the Porto social summit in 2021.
The proposal for a recommendation to the Council, adopted this Wednesday by the college of commissioners, establishes how the EU countries can continue to strengthen social dialogue and collective bargaining at the national level, since, according to Brussels, “the degree and quality of the involvement of the social partners varies considerably from one country to another”.
The community executive points out that “union affiliation and the percentage of workers covered by collective agreements at the national level is decreasing (from a community average of around 66% in 2000 to around 56% in 2019)” and, on the other On the other hand, “new forms of employment, such as platform work, and certain groups, such as young people, also have less possibilities of being represented, with some sectors, such as care, experiencing an almost total absence of negotiation collective”.
In this context, in its proposal, which must be adopted by the Council, the Commission begins by recommending to the Member States “to ensure that the social partners are consulted on the design and implementation of economic, social and employment policies, in accordance with national practices”.
Brussels also intends that the 27 “encourage the social partners to analyze new forms of work and atypical employment, and to widely communicate the benefits of social dialogue and collective agreements that can be established”, as well as allow “an increase in the capacity of workers’ and employers’ organizations, for example, by guaranteeing them access to relevant information and ensuring the support of national governments”.
The European Commission stresses that this recommendation to the Council “fully respects national traditions, as well as the autonomy of the social partners”, allowing Member States “to determine the best way to achieve these objectives, taking into account their specific circumstances”.
At the community level, and with a view to promoting the participation of partners in the development of EU social policies, Brussels proposes a set of measures, such as “strengthening the European sectoral social dialogue through the modernization of its framework, in close collaboration with the EU partners, through a possible revision of the current rules”.
Brussels also aims to improve the involvement of social partners in EU policy making, for example by collecting the views of European inter-branch social partners on European policy priorities before the Commission draws up its work programme.
Social dialogue and employee participation is a key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights and an integral part of the Porto Social Commitment 2021, adopted in May of that year, during the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Source: TSF
