Conference on tripartism

EU Presidency Conference on Tripartism in an enlarged European Union

Co-organised by the Danish Ministry of Employment and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Hotel Comwell, Elsinore, Denmark

29-30 October 2002

• Introduction

• Background

• Programme

• Venue & contact details

See also conference information from the Danish Ministry of Employment.

Statement by Eric Verborgh

Deputy Director, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Tripartism in an enlarged EU

Europe faces many challenges, including demographic and social change, globalisation, the development of the knowledge society and enlargement. To meet these challenges it is necessary to mobilise the resources and commitment of all the actors concerned, and to build strong partnerships between governments, social partners and other civil society actors. Tripartite structures can play a vital role.

To deal with such diverse issues as social inclusion, competitiveness, tax policy, social security and life-long learning (to name but a few), consensus on economic and social goals is required, and strong actors able to look beyond immediate sectional interests are needed.

Concrete experiences in the Member States show that tripartite cooperation has delivered progress on economic and social goals, sometimes in the framework of employment pacts at national, regional or local level. Such cooperation has drawn on both collective bargaining structures and the traditional social partners, and has been supported by public initiatives. In some cases NGOs have developed an important role.

In the candidate countries, tripartism has supported the transition process and the restoration of democracy. However, the actors face important organisational challenges, and industrial relations structures are still in the process of development. Thus, collective bargaining coverage and the membership of organisations representing both workers and employers are below the EU average. How the different levels of bilateral and tripartite consultation and negotiation relate to each other is a difficult and delicate topic.

Because of these diverse histories, we will have much to gain by sharing experiences in the enlarged Union, and that is certainly a key objective of this joint conference of the Danish Presidency and the European Foundation. In the Foundation we are particularly pleased to be involved in the light of our own structure, where social partners and governments are represented in our Administrative Board.

The conference also fits into the broader theme of "Social inclusion through Social Dialogue and Partnership", which our Danish hosts have taken as the theme of their Presidency in the fields of social affairs, gender equality and labour market policy. For the Foundation too, the theme of social inclusion is an important one - which we have investigated through work on issues such as access to employment for vulnerable groups and on illness and inclusion.

Finally, we hope that the conference will help to identify practical ways in which EU institutions, Governments of Member States, regional and local authorities, social partners and NGOs can work in partnership to improve economic and social performance. There will not be a single model, but rather a range of experiences. Mutual learning is the objective of the exercise, and I look forward, together with the Danish Presidency, to a fruitful debate.