Social Cohesion

Trade Unions and Employers on Social Dialogue in South Eastern Europe

Under the auspices of the Initiative for Social Cohesion, the third joint meeting of the ETUC Balkan Forum and the South East European Employers’ Forum took place in Sofia on 2 October. Following two days of separate consultations, trade unions and employers discussed together how to further strengthen social dialogue in the region.

The networks of trade unions and employers of South East Europe, under the guidance of the European Trade Union Confederation and the International Organization of Employers respectively, met for the third time at their now traditional annual gathering to discuss issues relevant for the establishment of efficient bipartite and tripartite social dialogue in the region. Each network had two days of separate consultations where labour disputes resolution, collective bargaining, set up of Economic and Social Councils and fight against corruption, shadow economy and unregistered employment were considered in detail. Both networks agreed that the main challenges for social dialogue were the lack of: a) strong, independent and representative workers’ and employers’ organizations which have the capacity to play their role in the social dialogue process, b) effective institutions of social dialogue at all levels of decision making process operating within a sound legal framework and c) effective labour administrations which will play their role on behalf of the government in the tripartite social dialogue, facilitate the operation of bipartite social dialogue between the social partners and enforce labour law.

In the review of progress made in 2004, key results include: increased understanding of labour dispute settlement, also presented in a publication of comparative analysis of the treatment of the issue in selected Western European countries and in South East Europe; the set up of a working group at government level in Bulgaria to address the establishment of labour courts and the near prospect of achieving the same in Macedonia; the twinning programs for cooperation among employers’ organizations, such as the Romanian and Moldovan; the work of the Labour Law Experts’ Network, which is already advising the various SEE Governments on drafting or amending labour-related laws and last but not least, the continuous exchange of experience and best practice and strengthening of the cooperation among trade unionists and employers within the platform offered by the regional networks.

The major donor and supporter of the activities of both Networks, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, pledged a longer-term commitment, encompassing the next 2-3 years, in their financial and technical assistance to the social dialogue sector. This will enable the networks to work on the achievement of several objectives they set at the joint meeting: continuing the work on labour dispute resolution, in particular the establishment of labour courts; raising the political influence of the networks in the various SEE Governments, mainly through the organization of a major regional conference on “The Role of Law in Labour Relations” in 2005; collecting information on the already available instruments and policies in the fight against corruption and shadow economy (e.g. corporate social responsibility, Codes of Ethics etc) and putting it into a publication; ensuring the participation of social partners in the various EU and Stability Pact events on various topics covering the economic development of the region. All these and other objectives are to be supported by the Initiative for Social Cohesion, which will continue to support this sector by mobilizing additional resources, establishing links and convergence with other social policy issues, such as social security, health and safety at work, but also with the economic themes of Working Table II and other Stability Pact Initiatives, such as Education and Fight against Corruption.

The Chair of the Initiative for Social Cohesion, Mrs. Miet Smet, Belgian Minister of State and member of the Flemish Parliament, and former Belgian Minister of Employment, also attended the meeting and pledged full support of the Initiative for the activities of both Networks. She also took the opportunity to pay a visit to the Bulgarian Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Mrs. Christina Christova, the Bulgarian Minister of Health, Mr. Slavcho Bogoev and to the Bulgarian trade unions and employers. In the meetings, the Bulgarian counterparts reiterated wholeheartedly their appreciation of the role of the Stability Pact Initiatve for Social Cohesion in addressing social policy issues at regional level, as well as their full commitment to continuous active contribution to the activities of the Initiative. This is particularly important in view of the special role Bulgaria plays in the region given its advanced status of an EU candidate-country and the invaluable transfer of know-how and experience in the accession process to the other SEE countries.