EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (EXTERNAL COM)

Dear social partners and readers,

Social dialogue has been significant in the political agenda for the last six months.

Next year, the Commission will present a Communication and a proposal for a Council Recommendation to support social dialogue at European and national level.

Beyond the sectoral social dialogue review the Communication will take stock of developments of EU social dialogue since the 2015 New Start for Social Dialogue, strengthen the framework of EU social dialogue (including a review of sectoral social dialogue at EU level and a new supporting frame for social partner agreements at EU level), look at ways for promoting national social dialogue and also examine other new challenges and opportunities for social dialogue in a changing world of work, notably in relation to the twin transitions.

The Recommendation will look at ways for better promoting national social dialogue. This social dialogue initiative is planned for next year (Q3 2022).

Jörg Tagger
Head of Unit
European social dialogue

date: 07/12/2021

The Porto Social Commitment in May called on all relevant actors to promote autonomous social dialogue as a structuring component of the European Social Model. It also called on all relevant actors to strengthen it at the European, national, regional, sectorial and company levels, with special emphasis on ensuring an enabling framework for collective bargaining within the various models that exist in the Member States.

At the EPSCO in June, the 27 Ministers of Labour held a policy debate about the involvement of social partners in the recovery through the Resilience and Recovery Plans (RRPs) and the best approaches to social dialogue and collective bargaining.

Social partners were also consulted under Article 154 of the TFEU on possible initiatives addressing the challenges related to working conditions in platform work as well as addressing the challenges related to the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to chemical agents and to asbestos at work. In addition, since March 2020, the Commission consulted EU social partners through dedicated hearings on seven initiatives outside article 153 (application of EU competition rules on collective bargaining agreements for self-employed, micro-credentials and Individual Learning Account, green paper on ageing, OSH strategic framework, Social Economy Action Plan, Employers Sanctions Directive and social and employment aspects of the climate transition).

As of April 2021, EU social partners adopted eighteen joint statements. Social partners particularly focussed their contributions on the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, the new industrial policy and health and safety at work (civil aviation, fisheries, furniture, maritime, shipbuilding, textile, tourism, and woodworking). Fisheries, Urban Public Transport and woodworking social partners worked on the climate transition and the COP 26. Agriculture and construction social partners addressed the working conditions of specific groups of workers. The rail sector reached an autonomous agreement on promoting the employment of women.

This newsletter also presents other outcomes achieved by European Social Partners’ organisations.

Jörg Tagger
Head of Unit
European social dialogue

Editorial