Tripartite cooperation agreement signed

On 13 June 2005, on the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania, the government, two central employers’ organisations and three trade union organisations signed a tripartite cooperation agreement.

May 2005 saw the 10th anniversary of the signing of the first tripartite agreement among the government, employers’ organisations and employees’ organisations in Lithuania and the establishment of the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublikos Trišalė taryba, LRTT) (LT0502104F). In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the LRTT and in order to continue with the development of tripartite cooperation in various fields of labour and social security, at a celebratory sitting of the LRTT held on 13 June 2005 the government, both central employers’ organisations (LT0410102F) and all three trade union organisations (LT0412102F)) signed a 'Tripartite Cooperation Agreement Among the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, Trade Union Organisations and Employers’ Organisations'. The signing of the agreement was attended not only by the members of the LRTT, but also by former and present leaders of the social partners’ organisations as well as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania and other members of the cabinet council.

Upon signing the agreement, the social partners states that social partnership has taken on its full role as a universal and efficient way to coordinate partners’ interests, to keep social concord, to facilitate economic and social progress. The agreement says that social partnership should also contribute to overcoming new challenges, which have arisen after Lithuania’s joining the EU. Compared to earlier ones (signed in 1995 and 1999), the new agreement is more specific and broader: it contains new priorities, measures and obligations of the social partners required for achievement of such priorities. Considering the necessity to involve as many social groups in a dialogue as possible, the agreement provides for the government and social partners to seek to implement in Lithuania the practice of partnership, which is recognised in Europe and recommended for the new member states with the view to create and develop the structure of the civil dialogue with participation of a number of different associations.

The agreement sets forth the following priorities:

• development of social partnership;

• improvement of the wage system;

• employment increase;

• improvement of employees’ qualifications;

• creation of equal opportunities in the labour market;

• improvement of work conditions;

• implementation of the flexicurity principle;

• economic development and social and economic cohesion, etc.

To implement the abovementioned and other priorities, the signatories provide for:

• sharing of relevant information, consulting, drawing up and approximation of draft legislation on the tripartite principle, discussion of the most relevant problems at the LRTT;

• signing of a tripartite agreement on the minimum hourly wage and minimum monthly wage, non-taxable minimum and other relevant labour, social and economic issues;

• proceeding with the development of the structure of tripartite cooperation, improvement of efficiency thereof;

• developing counselling and awareness of employers and employees on labour, economic, social and employment-related issues, support of training and qualification improvement of the social partners in every possible way;

• creation and development of a structure for civil dialogue in Lithuania in conformity with the activity, practice and tasks of the European Economic and Social Committee;

• cooperation and consulting in drafting of opinions to EU institutions with regard to standard regulations submitted by the mentioned institutions for approximation by the social partners as well as with regard to recommendatory projects of the European Economic and Social Committee.

The tripartite agreement signed on June 2005 provides for a number of important mutual obligations of the social partners enabling implementation of set priorities and broader internalising of the principles of tripartite cooperation in the government. The government assumed obligations to provide the parties with information about drafted legislation on economic, employment, labour and social issues, drafts of basic programmes, and reports to EU institutions on the fulfilment of membership obligations and to submit the same for consideration at the LRTT at a request of at least one of the parties. Furthermore, the government undertook to adopt decrees on relevant economic, employment, labour and social issues only having them analysed at the LRTT at a request of the parties. In addition to the mentioned obligations, the government also assumed financial obligations, ie to render in the established procedure financial support to the measures set forth in the tripartite cooperation and partnership development plans.

In their turn, national organisations of trade unions and employers have assumed obligations to facilitate bipartite bargaining with regard to entering into national, sectoral and territorial collective agreements, trends of social and economic development, organisation of employees’ work and remuneration for work, definition of labour and health safety conditions and establishment of social guarantees. In addition, they obligated to abstain from initiating protest actions on issues where the government fulfils its obligations assumed under the tripartite agreements.

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