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UEAPME Background Fact sheet n°2
ENTER Project The European sectoral social dialogue
13/10./03
The European sectoral social dialogue
Introduction
In parallel to the development of European cross-industry social dialogue, the European Commission more recently supported a new development of the European sectoral social dialogue, recognising sectors as an important level of social dialogue capable of supplementing existing concertation at undertaking and cross-industry levels.
While the focus has been more frequently put on the intersectoral social dialogue, the sectoral social dialogue is becoming a full part of the European social dialogue.
The development of sectoral social dialogue
The most developed sectoral social dialogue was traditionally in the agriculture sector which started in the 1960s. Some other sectors like road transport, inland navigation, railways and fishing were among the first sectors with an institutionalised social dialogue which emerged during the 1970s. Some other important sectors like commerce, horeca (hotel/restaurant/catering), insurance, banking, construction, textile, started an early dialogue in the late 1980s, beginning of the 1990s.
However, the new impetus for developing the sectoral social dialogue came from the European Commission in 1998 with the proposal for setting up institutionalised uniform structures for all sectors, the sectoral social dialogue committees.
Nowadays, 27 European sectoral social dialogue committees are in place with varying levels of involvement of actors and activities.
The results of the sectoral social dialogue
According to the Amsterdam Instituut voor ArbeidsStudies - AIAS database, between 1978 and 2002, 230 results have been achieved in the sectoral social dialogue, against 40 in the inter-sectoral dialogue. However relatively few results have been achieved during the 1980s, while a rapid increase took place during the 1990s, this can be explained by the increasing number of sectors issuing joint statements or drafting framework agreements. However only 20 framework agreements have been concluded, which represent less than 10% of the total achievements. Actually most results achieved in the European sectoral social dialogue were joint statements.
Nature of the results of the sectoral social dialogue
Framework agreements reached in the European sectoral social dialogue have to be formally distinguished from the 3 legally-binding agreements concluded by the cross-industry social partners under the procedure of Article 139 of the Treaty and transposed by the mean of a Council's decision into directives.
Very few of them have been become legally binding because of the nature of the agreements. Many are limited to institutionalising the social dialogue in the sector and supporting studies and analysis in their area.
In the agriculture sector agreements were reached on working time. Concerning working time, further agreements were reached in civil aviation, railways and maritime transport directly linked to the directive on working time (93/104/EC). These sectors were exempted from the directive and were invited by the Commission to agree on "supplementary" provisions through negotiations.
Framework agreements in telecommunications, commerce, cleaning, postal services and sugar cover many topics like telework, new organisation of work, flexibility and job security, health and safety at the work place, and broadly commit the European parties to supporting studies and analysis of a wide variety of issues within the framework, but without tangible results at national level.
This type of agreement which only commits European social partners, has consequently a much more limited impact on national social partners and on enterprises and workers in the sectors involved.
Some recent interesting initiatives merit attention. In personal services, hairdressers, and the leather sector, codes of conduct have been adopted, which cover issues like working conditions, fair wages, profits, lifelong learning, information and consultation of employees, and combating undeclared work. But their scope and value are those of codes of conduct.
The challenge of the sectoral social dialogue for SMEs
It can be stated that the European sectoral social dialogue has not yet reached its maturity. It is likely to develop further and play an increasing role in the future, in particular when we refer to the current role and place of the sectoral social dialogue at national level in the EU Member States.
Traditionally, sectors dominated by large companies are less inclined to develop a European social dialogue, since they very much favour collective agreements at enterprise level.
On the contrary, SMEs for various reasons - reduction of costs, lack of human competence and financial resources, fight against unfair competition - have a clear interest in establishing a sectoral social dialogue, including at European level.
It is, however, remarkable to notice the quasi absence of SME organisations in the European sectoral social dialogue.
Explanations are multiple. SMEs are traditionally less organised than large companies. Sectoral SMEs organisations do not exist or are still too fragmented to compete with well-established sectoral organisations defending the interest of large businesses. Finally, SMEs are more reluctant to enter into institutionalised structures and dialogues.
Nevertheless, it will be one of the main challenges in the future for SMEs to be represented and active in the European sectoral social dialogue if they want to defend their specific interest in the diverse sectors.
Currently only one sector is represented by a European typical SMEs organisation. That is the sector of personal services (hairdressers) with CIC Europe, which represents the national organisations for craft and small hairdressers.
The specific situation of candidate countries in term of sectoral social dialogue
Whilst the sectoral social dialogue is well-developed and recognised as an important component of the industrial relations social dialogue systems in the current EU Members States, it is one of the weakest links in the social dialogue structures in the accession countries.
The autonomous social dialogue and collective bargaining have not be considered a priority. In almost all candidate countries, the very few number of sectoral collective agreements reflects the weakness of the social partners and in particular of the employer organisations.
The necessity to institute such branch level dialogue will appear very clearly with the development of cross-border activities, in particular for small businesses in sectors like construction, retail, road transport, where the competition with EU companies will become more and more acute. It will also be considered as a priority for certain sectors at European level in order to avoid social dumping and unfair competition, like in the road transport..
An efficient sectoral social dialogue could be particularly helpful for resolving specific problems together and in some specific fields for the implementation of the "social acquis" like occupational health and safety regulations, labour legislation, working conditions, vocational training, training needs and the recognition of qualifications.
The setting up of such a dialogue requires certain preconditions such as institutional structures on the part of the government, the existence of employers organisations, a legal framework for the representativity of the actors, the mutual recognition of social partners, etc…
In the next phase of EU membership, these new sectoral social partners should gain very much in power and influence in the European and national decision-making processes in their sectors.
Sources:
- "The sectoral social dialogue" - Industrial relations & industrial change - European Commission - Employment and Social Affairs - 2003
- "The European Social Dialogue: Development, Sectoral Variation and Prospects"
Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies, University of Amsterdam - March 2003
H. Benedictus, R. de Boer, M. van de Meer, W. Slaverda, J. Visser, M. Zijl
- European Commission - Industrial Relations in Europe (yearly publication - several years)
- "The sectoral social dialogue" - Industrial relations & industrial change - European Commission - Employment and Social Affairs - 2003
- European Industrial Relations Observatory - EIRO (www.eiro.eurofound.ie)
- ILO Geneva- Working Paper "Social Dialogue at National level in the EU Accession Countries" - Ludek Rychly - Rainer Pritzer - February 2003
- http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/social/index_en.htm