Conference debates social dialogue in the hospitals sector

The EU-level social partners in the hospitals sector held a joint conference in February 2002 on the future of the social dialogue in their sector. They looked at the possibility of working towards formal EU-level dialogue and examined the issue of freedom of movement, agreeing to set up a taskforce to look into this issue.

A conference was held on 4–5 February 2002, organised jointly by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions – Employers' Platform (CEMR). The latter two organisations together represent the majority of EU Member State employers' organisations in the hospitals sector, in addition to employers' organisations in the countries applying to join the EU. The conference was also partly facilitated by the Danish Municipal Employees' Confederation (Det Kommunale Kartel, DKK).

The conference had three main aims:

• to examine the future of the hospitals sector;

• to promote social dialogue at national level; and

• to identify common ground between employers and trade unions for the further development of the social dialogue at European level.

In the case of the latter aim, which the participants deem to be of particular importance, the 'further development' of the dialogue would mean formal identification of the representative social partners in the sector. Sectoral social dialogue at EU level is carried out within the framework of social dialogue committees. According to the latest data from the European Commission, 26 such committees are currently in operation in a wide range of sectors (EU0201236F).

The conference participants recognised the value of developing a system of social dialogue at European level. They also felt in general that there were many EU policy fields which have a significant influence on the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care, despite the fact that, under the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Community respects the responsibilities of Member States for health services and medical care.

One of the main substantive themes examined by the conference was the free movement of healthcare personnel. In particular, delegates looked at three areas:

• free movement within the EU;

• free movement between applicant countries and the EU; and

• free movement between other states and the EU.

The main challenges and trends in these areas were examined and it was recognised that there is an individual right to mobility and this has the advantage of increasing the skills base and exchange of expertise in the sector. However, delegates also noted that there were significant challenges when this was conducted on a large scale, such as in the case of country-to-country agreements on recruitment. Nevertheless, it was also recognised that there is a strong relationship between short-term overseas recruitment and the opportunity to implement innovative retention schemes. Delegates also looked at submissions from the European Commission on the subject of free movement, including the recently-issued report from the high-level task force on skills and mobility (EU0201234N).

The conference concluded with a joint declaration that: 'In order to sustain this progress towards social dialogue, the conference endorses that the parties organising the conference set up a joint representative taskforce to take the necessary steps to formulate a working programme as a basis for the future social dialogue.' This taskforce was due to hold its first meeting on 5 March 2002.