Cross-industry social dialogue
The social dialogue committee:
- is the main body for bipartite (i.e. between trade unions and employers) social dialogue at European level
- meets 3-4 times a year to discuss employer/worker views on employment and social topics, adopt texts negotiated by both parties and plan future initiatives
- consists of maximum 66 representatives of the social partners, equally divided between the employers' and the workers' representative organisations and including the EU Secretariats of the cross-industry social partners, as well as representatives from the national member organisations on each side
- can set up technical working groups to discuss various issues like labour market challenges, reconciliation of working and family life etc.
- adopts and follow up the results of negotiations between employers and workers' representative bodies
- takes part in social dialogue summits – high-level meetings chaired by the president of the Commission.
At cross-industry level, the bipartite European social dialogue takes place between the following organisations:
- European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
- Confederation of European Business (BUSINESSEUROPE, formerly UNICE)
- SGI Europe (formerly CEEP)
- SMEunited
- Eurocadres (the Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff) and European Confederation of Executives and Managerial Staff (CEC) participate in this dialogue as part of the ETUC delegation.