Economic and Social Council proposes its own reform

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At the end of 2000, Luxembourg's consultative Economic and Social Council issued an opinion dealing with its own reform. The Council wants to establish itself as a "platform for social dialogue", as well as taking on the task of giving guidance on supranational policy issues and having greater links with the EU-level social dialogue.

Socio-economic concertation in Luxembourg is based on a broad-based network of institutions involved in participation and social dialogue at national level (LU9711127F). These institutions are the Economic and Social Council (Conseil économique et social, CES), the Tripartite Coordination Committee (Comité de coordination tripartite), the professional chambers (representing employers and workers by socio-professional categories) and a large number of specialist tripartite councils, committees and commissions attached to the various ministries. This national structure exists alongside employee committees/works councils (délégations du personnel) and joint committees (comités mixtes d'entreprise) at company level, and employee representation on company boards.

Given that the problems analysed by the CES and those submitted to the Tripartite Coordination Committee overlap (see below), the former launched an analysis of the nature of its tasks and of the objectives pursued by both institutions in July 1999. The purpose was to provide necessary clarification for the appropriate allocation of socio-economic concertation tasks. The review therefore focused on an analysis of these two main forums for tripartite concertation and dialogue at national level, while at the same time examining the European Union model of "structured" social dialogue. At present, there is no forum or statutory framework in Luxembourg for the social partners at national or sectoral level to evaluate and transpose agreements arising from the EU social dialogue.

The CES issued its opinion on its own reform in December 2000. Below, we summarise its proposals, after first looking at the current role and operation of the CES and the Tripartite Coordination Committee.

Economic and Social Council

The establishment of the CES by the law of 21 March 1966, as amended by the law of 17 December 1986, added a new dimension to consultations with social and professional bodies by bringing all the nation's leading actors together. Taking their lead from examples of socio-economic concertation in other countries and from international institutions, Luxembourg lawmakers sought to channel confrontations in the various areas of socio-economic life by trying to balance them through combined efforts, and by ensuring that claims from all categories of society and the economy are subordinated to the overall good of the country.

The CES is a government consultative body with responsibility for examining economic, financial and social problems that affect several economic actors, or else the whole of the economy. It is currently made up of 14 employers' representatives, 14 trade union representatives - from the Luxembourg Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (Onofhängege Gewerkschafts-Bond Lëtzebuerg, OGB-L), the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Lëtzebuerger Chrëschtleche Gewerkschafts-Bond, LCGB) and public sector unions - and seven "independent" members who are high-ranking civil servants from state ministries and administrations.

The government asks the CES for opinions on legislative and regulatory measures of general scope that it proposes adopting, on the grounds that these measures affect several economic sectors, several professional groups or the whole of the national economy. The government may also ask the CES for an opinion on all matters of general interest and on all questions about which the professional chambers have presented fundamentally opposed views. In these circumstances, the CES normally issues a single, coordinated opinion. In the course of the first three months of each year, the CES also issues an opinion on the country's economic, financial and social situation.

The Tripartite Coordination Committee

The Tripartite Coordination Committee was set up, as part of measures to combat a crisis in the iron and steel industry which broke out in 1975, by the "anti-crisis law" of 24 December 1977. This legislation sought to counter the impact of this serious crisis through a display of national solidarity. The Tripartite Coordination Committee is the institution consulted by the government on its anti-crisis policy. It has a statutory duty to intervene when deterioration of the economic and social situation calls for measures of general application and requiring national solidarity.

The Committee is therefore the political forum for selective, specific socio-economic concertation and tripartite negotiations in the event of a crisis. It is called on, in a spirit of national solidarity, to act speedily to redress the economic situation and maintain employment. It is also the government's instrument of social dialogue that enables it, in partnership with the social partners, to give concrete shape to, and finalise, the measures it intends to adopt in order to tackle a substantial problem requiring a rapid solution.

The Committee is made up of four government representatives (including the Prime Minister), four employers' representatives, and four union representatives.

Experience has shown that, because of the key role played by the government in its operation and because of the speed with which it makes commitments, the Committee's highly political style of action has enabled it to play a very useful part in combating economic crises.

The CES proposals

In its opinion, the CES states that it wants its role to be broadened so that it can become a "platform for social dialogue". To that end, it wants to be allocated three new tasks, as follows.

Socio-economic concertation at national level

In its opinion, the CES states that the Tripartite Coordination Committee should retain its role as the anti-crisis instrument in economic and social matters. However, the way that the Committee works has attracted criticism from the CES, associated with the way in which its opinions are transposed into action in the spirit of negotiations. Difficulties observed in the application of the 1998-9 National Action Plan (NAP) for employment (LU9901187F) agreed by the Tripartite Coordination Committee should, it is suggested, give rise to consideration of the Committee's specific missions, and of the way that it functions

The CES believes that it and the Tripartite Coordination Committee should continue to operate side by side, but that care will have to be taken in future to ensure that the latter's opinions do not seek to regulate in a precipitate manner the delicate problems that arise among the social partners, which should be examined in advance in a reflective social dialogue process.

Guidance on supranational policy

Concertation between the CES and political leaders on supranational policy issues started in 1993, in the form of a twice-yearly meeting with the government, but is not regular or systematic. To enable the CES properly to take on a supranational dimension, it proposes that there should be regular meetings with the various relevant actors at EU and regional level, as well as national level. Regular information and concertation meetings on EU policy should take place between the government and leading national actors.

To enable the CES to intervene at the initial stage of drawing up EU policies on specific projects, it proposes that it should have an instutionalised role of observing the impact of supranational policies in Luxembourg. This would involve monitoring regularly EU issues within its scope, with support from the responsible government officials, in order to express the social partners' views for the purposes of influencing EU negotiations on the issues concerned.

The CES also proposes institutionalising concertation and regular information exchanges between itself and the Luxembourg delegations to the EU Economic and Social Committee, the Benelux Consultative Economic and Social Council (Conseil consultatif économique et social Benelux) and the Economic and Social Committee for the Wider Cross-Border Region (ie Luxembourg and the adjoining regions of neighbouring countries) (Comité économique et social de la grande région transfrontalière) with a view to improving mutual knowledge of the various national and transnational structures and of the socio-economic concertation that takes place within them.

Social dialogue at EU and national level

The opinion states that it is essential to put in place the platform and procedures needed to institutionalise social dialogue at CES level. This institutionalisation would operate as follows:

• the CES's mission would include concertation with national organisations that take part in the European-level social dialogue - particularly the intersectoral Social Dialogue Committee and the EU Economic and Social Committee - on evaluation of European Commission proposals, with a view to influencing the approach to be adopted during the various phases of structured European social dialogue; and

• the CES would be involved in evaluating the procedure to be used in transposing at national level any agreements reached through social dialogue at European level.

Moreover, in the context of putting a "structured" national social dialogue in place, the CES's role would involve assessing the social partners' desire to transpose EU-level agreements at national or sectoral level, and to express an opinion on the follow-up procedure.

In addition, in order to organise and structure social dialogue at purely national level, a structure similar to that supporting the EU-level social dialogue should be provided for by law. The CES's role in social dialogue would, however, be restricted to one of support, as the Council itself has no direct negotiating role. For example, the CES could have a nationally important socio-economic question brought to its attention for analysis, or else it could pronounce on the matter on its own initiative. The CES could also take on the role of intermediary in the event of the social partners calling on it to unblock negotiations.

Commentary

The CES's opinion on its own reform is well-timed, and comes at a moment when the operation of the Tripartite Coordination Committee as an instrument of transposition, particularly of the NAP, has been called into question. In the writer's view, it is inappropriate that a body such as the Committee should decide on measures that go beyond a specific intervention, and which deserve more in-depth discussion (eg the introduction of parental leave). As the CES has nearly always managed to find consensual solutions to the delicate problems that arise between the social partners, and which should be examined in a reflective way in a social dialogue exercise, an extension of its role is to be encouraged.

The Prime Minister has announced that the government will be drafting a bill incorporating the great majority of the CES's proposals. (Marc Feyereisen)