Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • Global cities
    • Strategic autonomy
    • War in Ukraine
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Social dialogue must be at the heart of Europe’s future

Claes-Mikael Ståhl 24th January 2023

This week the European Commission will publish a proposal to revivify social dialogue. It must be more than words.

social dialogue,social partners
Social dialogue engendered solutions during the pandemic and can ease the cost-of-living crisis (Bacho/shutterstock.com)

Social dialogue is a fundamental part of democracy in Europe. It is a powerful means of reaching fair agreements between workers and employers—the social partners—and of generating quality jobs and employment and securing sustainable economic growth.

This week, the European Commission is due to publish its long-awaited Social Dialogue Initiative. There will be a commission communication and a draft Council of the EU recommendation to strengthen and support social dialogue at European and national levels. This renewed focus on reinforcing social dialogue sends an important signal at a time when Europe is looking for sustainable solutions to the cost-of-living crisis and negotiating the green and digital transitions.

Reaching agreements

Social dialogue and involvement of workers is enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights (principle 8). The promotion of collective bargaining is—at the insistence of trade unions—one of the dual goals set by the October 2022 directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union.

And social dialogue delivers. We have seen this again and again across Europe and beyond. During the pandemic, trade unions have taken the lead in identifying common solutions and reaching agreements in negotiations with employers and governments.


Become part of our Community of Thought Leaders


Get fresh perspectives delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter to receive thought-provoking opinion articles and expert analysis on the most pressing political, economic and social issues of our time. Join our community of engaged readers and be a part of the conversation.

Sign up here

When whole sectors were hit by lockdowns, short-time working arrangements kept businesses alive and maintained employment. Health-and-safety protocols were negotiated to protect frontline workers and allow an eventual safe return to work. Telework arrangements were introduced and continue to be developed. Social dialogue and collective bargaining allowed workers to have a say amid a global pandemic and set the conditions for a fairer recovery.

It seems that at least some lessons have been learnt from the 2008 financial crisis. The austerity policies which followed led to a hollowing out of trade union rights and weakening of collective-bargaining systems, further delaying an excruciatingly slow recovery.

That is why social dialogue and collective bargaining must be safeguarded and supported as people across Europe bear the full brunt of the cost-of-living crisis. Social dialogue is key to keeping lights on and homes heated. By securing fair wages, collective bargaining is proving an invaluable tool to mitigate the potentially devastating effects of inflation on working families. Social dialogue offers a path towards sustainable and fair agreements and is a fundamental part of our democratic social model.

Fundamental weaknesses

How can this new initiative lead to stronger social dialogue at European and national levels? Some fundamental weaknesses in the system need to be addressed.

Social dialogue should be promoted as a key performance indicator for each commission directorate-general, backed by a well-resourced network of social-dialogue co-ordinators. Making social dialogue mainstream requires, in the first instance, respect for the role of the social partners. The quality of their involvement and consultation varies greatly among the different parts of the commission. Allocating responsibility to a person in each directorate-general to ensure the proper engagement of social partners would be a positive step. Social dialogue must become the concern of the whole commission.

EU legislators should be required to state how their proposals have helped to promote social dialogue. An impact-assessment toolbox for social dialogue would identify and remedy any restrictions or practices undermining its effective implementation at all levels. Much more can be done by member states to promote social dialogue and enhance the conditions for collective bargaining.

Back in 2015, a New Start for Social Dialogue was launched by the council, the commission and the social partners. It included commitments to respect social dialogue at Europe-wide, sectoral and national levels. Yet trade unions continue to be insufficiently consulted on—even excluded from—policy-making. In the absence of any effective process to identify when social dialogue is being undermined, the European Trade Union Confederation has called for a European early-warning mechanism, to enable social partners to seek solutions at the European level when they are being sidelined nationally.

Cohesive approach

Placing social dialogue at the core of how the EU operates requires a cohesive approach to how public money is used. The minimum-wages directive recognises this by highlighting the need for companies and subcontractors to respect the right to organise and bargain collectively. A sure way to strengthen social dialogue and collective bargaining would be to make clear that public money should not go to companies that refuse to recognise unions or apply collective agreements. More social conditionalities are needed.


Support Progressive Ideas: Become a Social Europe Member!


Support independent publishing and progressive ideas by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month. You can help us create more high-quality articles, podcasts and videos that challenge conventional thinking and foster a more informed and democratic society. Join us in our mission - your support makes all the difference!

Become a Social Europe Member

The Social Dialogue Initiative must impose an effective and assured procedure for implementing agreements between the social partners. European agreements, negotiated with a view to becoming legally binding, must be subject to a recognised, transparent process, applying principles of good administration. This includes a clear and appropriate timeline and respect for the autonomy of social partners and their freedom to negotiate without interference.

This initiative is an important opportunity for the commission and member states to send a clear message that they are committed to a socially and economically fairer future, built on social dialogue and collective bargaining. This week’s commission proposals will be an important milestone in the construction of a more social Europe. They will not be a panacea but will hopefully play an important part in strengthening democracy and enhancing European social conditions.

Claes Mikael Ståhl
Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Claes-Mikael Ståhl has been deputy general secretary at the European Trade Union Confederation since September 2021. He deals with trade, mobility, employment, cohesion funds and occupational health and safety.

You are here: Home / Society / Social dialogue must be at the heart of Europe’s future

Most Popular Posts

Ukraine,fatigue Ukraine’s cause: momentum is diminishingStefan Wolff and Tetyana Malyarenko
Russia,information war Russia is winning the information warAiste Merfeldaite
Nanterre,police Nanterre and the suburbs: the lid comes offJoseph Downing
Russia,nuclear Russia’s dangerous nuclear consensusAna Palacio
Belarus,Lithuania A tale of two countries: Belarus and LithuaniaThorvaldur Gylfason and Eduard Hochreiter

Most Recent Posts

G7,BRICS,China,Russia G7 versus the BRICS: taking stock in 12 figuresThorvaldur Gylfason
solar energy,photovoltaic,Europe,EU,PV Powering up: the EU and solar energyFrancesco Crespi, Dario Guarascio, Serenella Caravella and Giacomo Cucignatto
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh: it’s not over yetSvante Lundgren
Sweden,climate,green Sweden’s climate policy—off the railsLisa Pelling
Biden,Detroit,UAW,strike Detroit, Joe Biden and a union renaissancePaul Knott

Other Social Europe Publications

strategic autonomy Strategic autonomy
Bildschirmfoto 2023 05 08 um 21.36.25 scaled 1 RE No. 13: Failed Market Approaches to Long-Term Care
front cover Towards a social-democratic century?
Cover e1655225066994 National recovery and resilience plans
Untitled design The transatlantic relationship

Eurofound advertisement

Eurofound Talks: does Europe have the skills it needs for a changing economy?

In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound’s research manager, Tina Weber, its senior research manager, Gijs van Houten, and Giovanni Russo, senior expert at CEDEFOP (The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), about Europe’s skills challenges and what can be done to help workers and businesses adapt to future skills demands.

Listen where you get your podcasts, or for free, by clicking on the link below


LISTEN HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

The summer issue of the Progressive Post magazine by FEPS is out!

The Special Coverage of this new edition is dedicated to the importance of biodiversity, not only as a good in itself but also for the very existence of humankind. We need a paradigm change in the mostly utilitarian relation humans have with nature.

In this issue, we also look at the hazards of unregulated artificial intelligence, explore the shortcomings of the EU's approach to migration and asylum management, and analyse the social downside of the EU's current ethnically-focused Roma policy.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI European Collective Bargaining Report 2022 / 2023

With real wages falling by 4 per cent in 2022, workers in the European Union suffered an unprecedented loss in purchasing power. The reason for this was the rapid increase in consumer prices, behind which nominal wage growth fell significantly. Meanwhile, inflation is no longer driven by energy import prices, but by domestic factors. The increased profit margins of companies are a major reason for persistent inflation. In this difficult environment, trade unions are faced with the challenge of securing real wages—and companies have the responsibility of making their contribution to returning to the path of political stability by reducing excess profits.


DOWNLOAD HERE

ETUI advertisement

The future of remote work

The 12 chapters collected in this volume provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the impact and the future trajectories of remote work, from the nexus between the location from where work is performed and how it is performed to how remote locations may affect the way work is managed and organised, as well as the applicability of existing legislation. Additional questions concern remote work’s environmental and social impact and the rapidly changing nature of the relationship between work and life.


AVAILABLE HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us

RSS Feed

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube