Debate: Strengthening social dialogue
Date: WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2023
Speaker: Johannes Hahn
Language: EN

I am pleased that the Parliament has been calling more than once for a further reinforcing social dialogue at national and European Union level. The aim of the Commission’s social dialogue initiative, prepared with the close involvement of social partners, is to give social dialogue a further boost in the Union. It is important to recall that there is no one—size—fits—all solution when it comes to social dialogue. What works in a Member State might not work in another. Yet there are some common lines in well—functioning social dialogue systems that the Commission is recommending in its proposal for the Council recommendation. The Commission proposes to regularly monitor the implementation of this recommendation jointly with Member States and social partners through tripartite meetings. The Commission also proposes to develop, jointly with the Employment Committee and social partners, commonly agreed indicators. I am grateful for the efforts of the Swedish Presidency to bring this recommendation forward for adoption at the June EPSCO Council. There is obviously a link between the Council recommendation and the Minimum Wage Directive as far as both promote collective bargaining. The Directive contains provisions to promote collective bargaining in the context of adequate minimum wage. It asks Member States where collective bargaining coverage does not reach at least 80% of workers to put in place an enabling framework for collective bargaining and an action plan to promote it. On the other hand, the proposed Council recommendation provides guidance to Member States to strengthen social dialogue more generally. The Commission will work constructively with Member States in view of avoiding duplication in this respect. The proposed recommendation will support Member States in tackling existing legal and institutional barriers to social dialogue. It calls, for example, on Member States to ensure that the representative social partners are recognised for the purposes of social dialogue, but also to remove barriers to social dialogue covering new forms of work or atypical employment. The Commission will also continue to monitor social dialogue through the European Semester in cooperation with the Employment Committee. Let me also underline that in a number of Member States social partners still lack the necessary capacities for effectively participating in social dialogue. I am therefore pleased to inform you that ESF+ funding for the capacity building of social partners has been programmed by 20 Member States. This support amounts to an over EUR 360 million contribution, and this represents over 0.4% of the total ESF+ amount. Regarding EU social dialogue, the Commission proposes a set of measures to strengthen it, such as the establishment of social dialogue coordinators in all the relevant Commission services. I am confident that the coordinators will help in fostering a better understanding of social dialogue across the Commission and a more coherent approach to involving social partners. We also work together with social partners on a new approach for organising the meetings of the sectoral social dialogue committees. To be clear, the Commission will continue to finance the organisation of sectoral social dialogue meetings. However, we need to explore the best way for ensuring the sustainability of these meetings. This is necessary in a situation where the Commission’s administrative budget and its human resources are under pressure and where the Commission is committed to the greening of the Commission. We are in discussions with EU sectoral social partners on this question. Finally, let me address your last question regarding the role of social dialogue in relation to the twin transition. Social partners play a central role in helping to anticipate and address the employment and social consequences of the transitions to a digital and climate neutral economy. Social dialogue contributes to finding balanced solutions as well as supporting up- and reskilling and job transitions. This is also highlighted in last year’s Council recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality. As you know, the cross—industry social partners are currently negotiating, with support from the Commission, a new social partners agreement on daily work and the right to disconnect. By doing so, social partners would demonstrate that EU social dialogue can deliver for the benefit of European workers and companies. So we look forward to the resolution on this topic to continue our joint cooperation on this important shared goal.