Commission issues social dialogue Communication

In August 2004, the European Commission issued a new Communication in which it explores the achievements of the EU-level social dialogue process to date and highlights areas where improvement could be made. It focuses in particular on the impact and implementation of the joint texts reached so far.

On 12 August 2004, the European Commission published a new Communication on the social dialogue. Entitled Partnership for change in an enlarged Europe - enhancing the contribution of European social dialogue (COM(2004) 557 final), the Communication reviews the progress the EU-level social dialogue process has made to date and outlines what it believes the social partners and the Commission itself can do to improve the process. This follows previous Communications on the social dialogue process, issued in 1998 (EU9806110F) and 2002 (EU0208203F). The Commission states that it has issued a new Communication at present because the EU is almost midway through the Lisbon strategy of social and economic reform (which seeks to make Europe the world’s most competitive economy by 2010 - EU0004241F) and it is therefore a good time to 'take stock of the European social dialogue'. Further, the spring 2004 European Council summit (EU0404205F) called for a 'partnership for change' to help deliver the reforms necessary to enable the Lisbon objectives to be met on schedule, and the Commission believes that the social dialogue can help meet these targets. It also states that the recent enlargement of the EU to 25 Member States has come at a time when important 'qualitative' developments are taking place within the European social dialogue. The Commission therefore states that the purpose of the new Communication is to 'promote awareness and understanding of the results of the European social dialogue, to improve their impact, and to promote further developments based on effective interaction between different levels of industrial relations'.

The role of the social partners

The Commission praises the progress of the European-level social dialogue process to date, noting that it has produced more than 300 joint texts and many transnational joint projects since 1985. It also states that there has been a qualitative shift in the social dialogue, towards greater autonomy, reflected by the increasing adoption of what it calls 'new generation' texts in which the social partners undertake certain commitments or make recommendations to their national members, rather than setting out minimum standards for compliance on a particular issue (TN0403107F). However, the Commission points to the difficulty of follow-up, noting that: 'one common difficulty is that many texts contain imprecise and vague follow-up provisions. Effective follow-up at national level is, however, only possible if the European social partners’ texts include detailed provisions on this.' It also believes that there needs to be good interaction between the different levels of industrial relations. For example, the Commission states that effective interaction between the European and national levels of industrial relations is crucial.

The Communication notes that the impact of the EU-level social partners’ texts depends on the political will of national affiliates in implementing them, as well as their technical capacities, including representativeness, to do so: 'Data on the coverage rates of collective agreements in the Member States, particularly after enlargement, suggests that effective implementation may be problematic in numerous Member States.' The Commission therefore urges the social partners and the Member States to work together to assist the social partners in reinforcing the administrative capacities of national social partner organisations, including through channels such as the European Social Fund.

Other areas highlighted by the Commission include awareness-raising of the results of the social dialogue process and transparency of the texts themselves.

The document also maintains that there could be more synergy between sectors, although it acknowledges that this is happening to some degree already, with new EU-level agreements referring to the goals contained in existing accords on a particular topic.

The Commission explores the possibility of more synergies between the European social dialogue and the company level, stating that one example could be a link between the sectoral social dialogue and European Works Councils (EWCs). It maintains that the range of issues being considered within EWCs is expanding beyond the core issues of company performance and employment and is now covering subjects with a strong European dimension, such as health and safety, equal opportunities, training and mobility, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental issues. The Commission believes that in these cases there may be possibilities for synergies between the EU sectoral social dialogue and EWCs and suggests that the European social partners could use the opportunity provided by the Commission’s recent consultation on the revision of the EWCs Directive (94/45/EC)(EU0405203F) to do this. The Commission also suggests that a link between social dialogue and company policies to promote CSR could be explored further.

The Commission’s role

The Commission has a central role in promoting and enabling the social dialogue process, set out in Article 138(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). In general, it takes the view that negotiations are 'the most appropriate means for settling questions related to work organisation and employment relations at both cross-industry and sector level'. It also welcomes the social partners’ wish to pursue a more autonomous dialogue and contribute to achieving the social and employment objectives set by the Lisbon process.

Referring specifically to the recent enlargement process of the EU, the Commission notes that there is a need for support for bipartite social dialogue to be stepped up and states that it will encourage the development of this within the new Member States. It will also increase its support of the European social partners in order to deal with the consequences of enlargement. However, the Communication also stresses that capacity-building is 'essentially a bottom-up process depending on the efforts of the social partners themselves'. To help this process, the Commission states that it will step up the current pace of studies and monographs on social partner representativeness and proposes that they be carried out by the European Industrial Relations Observatory.

In terms of improving the impact and follow-up of the European social dialogue, the Commission states that it will:

• explore ways of promoting the sharing of experience on follow-up practices, such as through electronic newsletters and experience-sharing forums;

• provide support for the social partners on a social dialogue website, such as a typology of social dialogue texts, a lexicon of social dialogue terminology, good examples of follow-up provisions and information on European company agreements;

• reinforce financial support for joint follow-up actions by the European social partners; and

• organise national awareness-raising seminars in each Member State, beginning in the new Member States.

Autonomous agreements

The Commission recognises two types of what it terms 'new generation' agreements, where the social partners seek to follow up themselves:

• autonomous agreements. These deal with minimum standards and are concluded under the process provided for in Article 139(2) of the TEC, but implemented by the procedures and practices specific to management and labour and the Member States (rather than by Council decision). Examples include the 2002 agreement between the intersectoral social partners on teleworking (EU0207204F); and

• so-called 'process-oriented texts', which are implemented in a more incremental and process-oriented way than agreements. Examples include the 2002 intersectoral joint framework on the lifelong development of competencies and qualifications (EU0204210F)

In the case of the Article 139(2) autonomous texts, the Commission states that it has a particular role to play if such an agreement was the result of a consultation exercise under Article 138 of the TEC, partly because the social partners’ decision to negotiate temporarily suspends the legislative process. It therefore states that it will undertake its own monitoring of such agreements and if it decides that one does not meet the Community’s objectives, it will 'consider the possibility of putting forward, if necessary, a proposal for a legislative act'. It also states that preference should be given to implementation of agreements by Council decision where rules must be applied in a uniform fashion in all Member States and coverage must be complete. Further, the Commission maintains that autonomous agreements are not appropriate for the revision of existing Directives.

The future

The Commission believes that the social dialogue process is developing and that there is therefore a need for a framework to help improve the consistency of its outcomes. It calls on the social partners to consider negotiating their own framework for this.

In addition, the Communication notes that interest in and the importance of transnational collective bargaining has been increasing in recent years. There is also a growing interest in cross-border agreements between the social partners from geographically contiguous countries, as well as in sectors covering more than one Member State. The Commission therefore states that in view of this trend, it is conducting a study of transnational collective bargaining and will make the results known to the social partners. At a later stage, it will then consult the social partners on the development of a Community framework for transnational collective bargaining.

Commentary

The August Communication makes the Commission’s position clear regarding the achievements of the social dialogue and how it believes this process should progress in the future. While praising the quantitative and qualitative progress of the dialogue process, it points to what it views as weak points, including the loose wording in some joint texts, making it difficult to improve implementation and follow-up. It will therefore focus its efforts on urging the social partners themselves to improve implementation, transparency and the general impact of their joint texts and on doing what it can to help them.

As regards the future, it would seem that the emphasis will be on achieving synergies between the different levels of industrial relations, including the company level via European Works Councils. It is also clear that a new and more extensive framework for the social dialogue process will be developed - the Commission hopes that the social partners themselves will negotiate this - and that the issue of transnational collective bargaining will gain prominence. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)