Social dialogue and conflict resolution

Social dialogue and conflict resolution in the acceding countries
Conference

Kranj, 31 March - 2 April 2004

Kokra Hotel (Brdo Estate) Kranj, Slovenia

Social dialogue and conflict resolution in the acceding countries

• Background

• Programme

• Contact details

• Participants

Conference participants

Eileen BARKAS HOFFMAN mediates labor, equal opportunity, and public policy disputes in FMCS’s Department of International and Dispute Resolution Services in the US. She also trains and facilitates discussions involving numerous organizations, groups, and key industries, including federal and state agencies and labor organizations and private sector companies and unions. She designs dispute resolution systems and conducts mediation programs here and abroad. Her most recent projects have included dispute resolution skills training in Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Latvia, Lithuania, the Philippines and Uganda, as well mediation skills for Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) mediators in major US agencies. She has facilitated multi-party stakeholder meetings and regulatory negotiations involving state governments, federal agencies, and private parties such as unions, managements, and local communities. A member of the D.C. and Pennsylvania bars, she serves as a volunteer mediator for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She is active in the Industrial Relations Research Association, the Association for Conflict Resolution, and the American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section and Labor Law Section.

Anneliese BÜGGEL is a lawyer (Rechtsanwältin). She studied jurisprudence at the University of Hamburg. She worked as legal adviser for a company. She gives legal advise to workers, employees, Trade Unions, National and European Works Councils. She defended cases in courts including the Federal Labour Court and she acts for Works Councils in settlement boards (Einigungsstellen). She works as reporter on national and European training seminars for workers representatives. Her most recent publications include 'The European Company and Company law and Existing Legislative Provision for Employee Participation in the EU Member States', Report 79, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung/ETUI, 2003;Europäische Betriebsräte - Außergerichtliche und gerichtliche Verfahren in den Mitgliedstaaten, AiB 2002, 760 ff).

Willy BUSCHAK A graduate in history and philosophy (Ruhr Universität Bochum), holder of an M.A. and PhD in history, Willy Buschak worked as a researcher on a number of projects dealing with social history and history of trade unions in Europe and Latin America. In 1987 he was appointed national officer in the central administration of the Trade Union of Food, Beverages and Restaurant Workers (NGG), based in Hamburg, responsible for codetermination and foreign workers. In 1991 he was elected Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), based in Brussels, responsible for democratisation of the economy, health and safety at the workplace and research. In 1995 his brief was extended to include environment and information society. In 2000 he took over, in addition to his political responsibilities, the responsibility for all administrative, financial and staff matters of the ETUC. Throughout his academic and professional career, he has published numerous books and essays, his most recent being 'Dreams of Europe and the globalisation. A biography of Edo Fimmen' (in German, Essen 2003).

Ludovít CZÍRIA, PhD: After finishing his work in industry he started to work for the Czechoslovak Labour Research Institute in Bratislava in 1971. Since 1992 till 2003 continued with research activities for the successor organisation - the Research Institute of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in position of the deputy director and research project manager in Industrial Relations area. During the last ten years he participated in several international projects on Industrial Relations issues and conducted several nation-wide projects in Slovakia. As a national expert he participated in Phare and ILO projects focussed on development of social dialogue and tripartism in Slovakia. Since 1993 he is working as associated lecturer for Industrial Relations and Change Management courses at the Faculty of Management of the Comenius University. He is a member of the European Trade Union Institute expert network for collective bargaining in Europe. Since May 2002 he is participating in European Foundation’s project as the head of the Slovak National Centre for the European Industrial Relations Observatory. Regularly participates at the international conferences and workshops and contributes to internationally published books on Industrial Relations.

Vlado DIMOVSKI was born on 21 July 1960 in Postojna. He studied at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, where he graduated in 1984. He received a university award for his master's thesis on employment. In 1989, he also graduated in philosophy at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana. In October 1990, he enrolled at the State University in Cleveland, USA, for a PhD in management and finance, which he successfully completed in 1994.
He frequently gives papers at academic and professional gatherings at home and abroad. He has published a number of articles on economics, management and finance. Since 1984, he has been employed by the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana, where he lectures on management and banking to undergraduate and post-graduate students. Between 1995 and 1997, he was State Secretary for Industry at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and from 1997 onwards he was the president of the Centre for International Competitiveness.

Raul EAMETS holds a PhD and MA in Economics and BA in Law, Tartu University. He is Associate Professor of economics in Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Estonian Labour Force Survey, editor of Baltic Journal of Economics and a member of European Association of Labour Economists. His key areas of expertise are reallocation of labour structure during transition, labour market flows, labour market flexibility, labour relations in CEE countries, Estonian labour market and labour policy, labour market policy in EU, labour market policy evaluation, general macroeconomic developments of transition economy, regional labour markets and education and labour markets.

Daiga ERMSONE is the Director of Labour market research, consulting and training centre Ltd.. She holds LL.M. in International and European Law, Riga Graduate School of Law (2001) and LL.B., Faculty of Law, University of Latvia (1990). Academic interests include labour law, social security law, social and economic rights, issues of non-discrimination.

Gražina GRUZDIENE is a graduate of Kaunas Technical University. She has attended numerous seminars and conferences on social, economical and labour issues organized by the ILO, EU, ICFTU, ETUC, OECD, trade unions and other NGOs. She is President of the Lithuanian food producers' trade union and a member of the National Tripartite Council. She has participated in the establishing of free trade unions, in the creation of new labour laws and social partnerships, in the instilling of collective negotiations systems and the propagation of ILO conventions in Lithuania. Between 1996 and 2002 she held the position of Vice-President of the Lithuanian trade union unification. She has provided guidance for educational projects with foreign partners (EU PHARE, ACCESS, etc.). She is one of the initiators for the establishment of the Educational Support Fund of the Lithuanian Trade Union Unification. She is a member of the Commission for Lithuanian trade unions integration into the EU. She has experience of international work, seeking for the recognition of Lithuanian trade unions and bilateral contacts. In 1990/1991 she was the expert for social affairs in the National Committee of Lithuanian food industry workers' trade union. She has also worked in the brewery "Vilniaus Tauras". She has organizational abilities, ability to work in a team, consistency and a sense of humour.

Peter J. HURTGEN, is the 15th Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Nominated by President George W. Bush in May 2002, Director Hurtgen was confirmed by the United States Senate two months later and is responsible for FMCS operations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. Prior to his service as the FMCS Director, Director Hurtgen served as a Member and later Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, a position to which he was appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the Senate for a term that ran from 1997 to 2001. During that term, President Bush designated Mr. Hurtgen as Chairman of the NLRB and gave him a recess appointment on August 31, 2001 to continue serving upon the expiration of his term. Mr. Hurtgen is the co-author of several publications dealing with specialized subjects within the general field of labor law and labor-management relations, and is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the National Executive Board of the United States branch of the International Society for Labor Law and Social Security.

Timo KAUPPINEN is research manager in the Foundation’s group focusing on industrial relations and is in charge, together with Christian Welz, of this project on Social Dialogue and Conflict Resolution Mechanisms in the Acceding Countries. He has also been in charge of the following Foundation projects: the European Industrial Relations Observatory, EMU’s Social impacts on employment, Europeanisation of industrial relations in the new economy, European Knowledge Society Foresight for working conditions, living conditions and industrial relations. Before joining the Foundation he was working in the Ministry of Labour in Finland as research manager. In 1991 he set up a Finnish Industrial Relations Association and acted as Chairman between 1991 and 1997. He is docent in sociology at the Helsinki University.

Jürgen KRETZ joined the European Commission (DG Employment and Social Affairs) in 2002 on a temporary basis. He studied law at Heidelberg University and sat his second state examination in law in 1990. In 1991 he joined the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and a year later became a legal adviser in East Germany (Ministry of Social Affairs and Treuhand-Agency, Schwerin). In 1993 he took up the post of deputy head of the unit for international labour law and employee wage protection in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and in 1996 beame deputy head of the unit for collective bargaining policy and economic impact. In 1997 he became a social attaché in the German permanent representation to the European Union and was Chairman of the council working party on social affairs during the German EU Presidency in 1999.

Christopher MARTIN joined ACAS in 1992 as a Senior Industrial Relations Officer following a career within the Department of Employment Group which he joined on leaving college in 1972. During this period he gained wide experience of the employment world and also spent significant periods as both an internal and external trainer. He spent 2 years on secondment to The Prince’s Trust as Deputy Director responsible for setting up a national programme of training for young people based on voluntary work in the community. Chris has acquired considerable experience in assisting both employers and representatives to develop workplace information, consultation and negotiation arrangements. This has involved the use of joint problem solving techniques to develop agreed procedures and then training elected representatives and managers in all aspects of relevant good practice and the law. Chris was also responsible for the development and delivery of the Negotiating Skills training course for ACAS Senior Advisers. High profile projects have included a 2 year programme with South West Trains to train all line managers and representatives from ASLEF, RMT and TSSA and similar projects with Surrey Ambulance Service, Sussex Ambulance Service and Connex. By way of contrast, Chris has also assisted numerous smaller organisations, both profit making and from the voluntary sector, to set up consultation arrangements with their employees. Since January 2001 Chris has been the Assistant Director in South Eastern Area with responsibility for the delivery of all ACAS services in this part of the country.

Orestis MESSIOS is Officer of the Industrial Relations Service, at the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus. After completing his studies, receiving a bachelors degree in economics, and a masters degree in organisational analysis and behaviour, both from Lancaster University in the UK, he worked for the Cyprus Institute of Technology, coordinating and overseeing management consultancy projects for local manufacturing units. He then worked for the Industrial Relations department of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, actively promoting and assisting employers' interests, both in direct negotiations with the trade unions, as well as in the various tripartite bodies and technical committees that make up the industrial relations scene in Cyprus. At the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance he mediates in industrial disputes; actively participates in the process of harmonising Cyprus's labour legislation with the acquis; is responsible for the compliance of labour law with ILO conventions; monitors the implementation of the labour legislation; and actively assists in the promotion of social dialogue.

Beáta NACSA has been lecturer of Labour Law at the Department of Labour and Social Law, Faculty of Law, Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest since 1996. She was researcher in Institute of Labour Research (1996-2001) and since 1992 Junior Research Fellow at Hungarian Academy of Science. Beáta was a project leader of following research projects “Approximation of the Hungarian labour law to the European Union norms” (1995-1999); The case law of the Hungarian labour courts” (1999-2001); “For Reconsidering the Notion of Employment Relationship” (1999-2002). She also participated in research on promotion of part time work and the annualisation of working time in Hungary (lead by Antal Seres, 2000-2001); on reconsidering the theoretical foundation of labour law (lead by Csilla Lehoczky Kollonay, 1996-2000); on social partnership in the context of the European Agreement from the point of view of the social partners (lead by Judit Ivány Czugler, 1998-1999) and in the research on Labour disputes in Hungary in the 1990s (lead by Erzsébet Berki, 1998-1999). Beáta is member of Industrial Relations Association (Budapest), member of Labour Law Association (Budapest) and member of Chamber of the Hungarian Barristers.

Shauna OLNEY studied law at the University of British Columbia and as a postgraduate at the University of Oxford, with a focus on industrial relations and human rights. She has been with the ILO since 1991, working in the areas of industrial relations, labour law and freedom of association. She is at present team leader of the social dialogue technical team of the InFocus Programme on Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration. Previously she worked as a barrister and solicitor in Canada, specializing in industrial relations, labour law and human rights. She also worked at the Supreme Court of Canada. Her publications include 'Collective bargaining and international obligations: The case of Canada' in Labour Education (ILO, 1999); Gender equality: A guide to collective bargaining (ILO, 1998); 'Collective disputes over health and safety issues', in ILO encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety (ILO, 1998); Unions in a changing world: Problems and prospects in selected industrialized market economy countries (ILO, 1996).

Metka PENKO NATLACEN: After graduation from a general education secondary school (gimnazija) in Ljubljana with classical languages and education, she graduated from the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, Department of Justice. After successfully passing the State Law Examination, she worked in the administration of justice, in publishing, in the rubber and chemical industry, and as a researcher. Since 1994, she has performed the duties of an independent counsellor for the field of labour law in the Legal department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. She specialises in working with collective contract law, especially in trade activities; in working with collective labour disputes and individual labour relations, and in giving expert advice to members. In the area of individual labour relations, she participates as an expert in the drafting of laws connected with this field. She is the co-author of the commentary to the General collective contract for trade activities of 1998, and the leader of a working party for the renewal of this collective contract in 2003. She received additional professional training in Dublin, Turin and Warsaw. She was a member of the tripartite Slovenian delegation at the ILO conference in Geneva, and is a member of committees for interpretation of the General and collective contracts in trade activities. She is also an appointed juror at the labour and social court. Since 1998, she has performed the duties of a secretary and a judge of the Court of Honour attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. She is active in publishing and lecturing on the topic of individual and collective labour relations, as well as on the jurisdiction and activity of the Court of Honour of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. Her articles appear especially in publications of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and in expert publications for members of the legal profession.

Kaia PHILIPS holds a Ph.D. in Economics, University of Tartu, and M.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration, University of Stockholm, Sweden. She is a Lecturer of Statistics, at the Institute of Economics, University of Tartu, Estonia. She is a member of the European Association of Labour Economists and was a member of the Socio- Economic Council at the Ministry of Social Affairs (counselling body at tripartite negotiations) in 2000. Her key areas of expertise are: reallocation of labour structure during transition, labour relations, human capital issues, wages and income inequality, labour and social policy.

Lena SKIÖLD, who started out as a newspaper reporter and then a press secretary in the Swedish parliament, has worked with information and co-ordination in international projects since 1997. The Work Life – Quality in Work project, running from 1997 to 2001, involved a large gathering of knowledge in the fields of labour market, work organisation and work environment. In the Work Life and EU Enlargement Project, the aim of which is to facilitate the candidate countries’ accession to the European Union through practical projects, Lena Skiöld is co-ordinator of projects and programmes as well as head of information.

András TÓTH, is a senior research fellow with the Institute of Political Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He also currently lectures in the Faculty of Sociology at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, and is an external collaborator for the Freie Universität Berlin, Zentralinstitut für sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung (Institute for Interdisciplinary Social Science Research). He is also an external collaborator for the European Trade Union Institute in Brussels. He did his undergraduate studies in sociology (B.A.) at the College of Public Administration. Subsequently he obtained his M.A. in sociology from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary and later his PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is a specialist in the following fields of study: sociology of work, industrial relations, labour law, labour history, political sciences, human resource management, sociology of production organisation and sociology of regional development. He has lectured in a number of other countries, including at the Freie University of Berlin and the London School of Economics. He has issued a number of books and articles in learned journals on various aspects of labour relations with particular reference to Hungary.

Kees VOS has a university degree in industrial sociology and a PhD in social sciences. After working as a research assistant in social sciences he started to work at the Dutch ministry of social affairs and employment in 1970. Since then he has held different posts in the ministry in areas such as workers' participation, safety and health, international social policy. He has been member of several national and international administrative boards and committees, co-editor of scientific magazines and (co-)published books and essays on industrial relations, working conditions, national and international social policy. Latest publications deal with the Dutch Poldermodel (2002) and the European Convention (2003).

Christian WELZ studied law and political sciences at the universities of Bonn, Freiburg, Aix-en-Provence and Strasbourg. Having worked as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Freiburg and the Institut für europäische Politk in Bonn, he was appointed professor in EC law at the Universities of Applied Sciences in Kehl and Offenburg. Before joining the Foundation in November 2001, he was in charge of the EU unit at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Augsburg. As a research manager in the IR team, Christian works on the following projects: European employment and industrial relations glossaries (EMIRE), financial participation, the quality of industrial relations and the present project on social dialogue and conflict resolution mechanisms in the acceding countries.

Matina YANNAKOUROU studied law at the University of Athens and as a postgraduate at the University of Paris X-Nanterre, where she obtained a DEA in Social and Trade Union Law and a Doctorat in Labour Law. She is Attorney-at-Law at the Athens Bar Association. She works as Adviser to the Economic and Social Council of Greece (OKE), specialised in the field of Labour Law, Employment and Labour Relations, social dialogue at national level and within the member-states of the European Union, EU social affairs. She is member of the teaching staff of the National School of Public Administration – Department of Social Administration in Greece. She collaborates as independent expert with the European Commission, DG EMPL - Unit Labour Law and Work Organisation. She was member of the national experts’ group, coordinated by Prof. Fernando Valdes (University Complutense of Madrid), which carried out a comparative analysis of labour conciliation, mediation and arbitration in the EU countries in view of a possible European voluntary system of conciliation, mediation and arbitration on the field of labour relations, with the support of the DG EMPL. She is the author of several publications in Greek, English and French.

Edward L. ZAMMIT is full professor of industrial sociology and industrial relations in the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy at the University of Malta. He is Chairman of the Workers' Participation Development Centre, and Deputy Dean of the Faculty. He did his undergraduate studies in sociology (B.A.) and philosophy (Ph.L.) at Loyola University (Chicago). Subsequently he obtained his M.Litt. and D.Phil. degrees at Oxford University (UK). He is Chairman of the Employment Relations Board, Deputy Chairman of the Employment and Training Corporation, and Board Member of the Foundation for Human Resource Development. He has lectured in Malta and in a number of other countries, including at the University of Augsburg (Germany) and the Institute of Social Studies (The Hague) as a visiting professor. He has issued a number of books and articles in learned journals on various aspects of labour relations and workers' participation with particular reference to Malta.