EU: Sectoral dialogue grows in importance

Employer and trade union representatives in 40 industries are involved in formal consultations and dialogue at EU level, a process that is resulting in increasing numbers of agreements and other joint initiatives with an impact on employment practices in the UK and other member states. We review the sectoral social dialogue and suggestions for improving it made by the European Commission in July 2010.

On this page:
Sectoral dialogue
Dialogue committees
Outcomes of dialogue
Agreements reached
Other types of outcome 
Commission review
Membership of committees
Consultation and capacity
Capacity to negotiate agreements 
Synergies between sectors
Effective implementation
Better use of EU funding
Conclusions
Table: EU-level sectoral social dialogue committees.

Sectoral dialogue

The European Commission is obliged (notably by arts.154 and 155 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU) to facilitate and support dialogue between "management and labour" at EU level, promote their consultation and, in certain circumstances, give them the opportunity to negotiate agreements on aspects of social and employment policy. This Commission-sponsored "social dialogue" between trade union and employers' organisations occurs at both overall cross-industry level and in individual sectors.

The sectoral social dialogue dates back to the 1950s and, over the period up until the late 1990s, a number of joint employer-union committees were set up in industries affected by common EU policies, such as steel, agriculture, various transport sectors, telecommunications and postal services. More informal working parties were created in a range of other industries, such as hotels/catering, commerce, insurance, banking, construction, cleaning, textiles and private security.

In 1998, the Commission overhauled and relaunched the sectoral process, through a Decision (98/500/EC) establishing a single type of dialogue forum, the "sectoral social dialogue committee". Existing structures were converted into these committees, while new sectors were added, and there were 26 sectoral social dialogue committees by the end of 2001. Since then, new committees have steadily been created, usually following informal dialogue processes, and the total now stands at 40 (see table below), covering around 145 million workers, or three-quarters of the EU workforce. Recent additions include:

• gas (2007);
• contract catering (2007);
• professional football (2008);
• the paper industry (2010);
• metalworking (2010); and
• education (2010).

This total of 40 includes a "preliminary test phase" of sectoral dialogue in the central public administration sector, which is running from 2008 to 2010. Discussions are under way over the possible creation of committees for ports and sport.

Dialogue committees

Under the terms of the 1998 Commission Decision, sectoral social dialogue committees may be set up in industries where the EU-level social partners make a joint request for this to occur. In responding to such requests, the Commission assesses whether or not the organisations concerned are representative. This assessment is based on whether or not the European sectoral organisations:

• have affiliates in a number of member states;
• consist of organisations that are an integral and recognised part of national social partner structures and have the capacity to negotiate agreements; and
• have adequate structures to ensure their effective participation in the committee's work.

Where set up, the committees are made up of equal numbers of representatives of employers and workers, invited by the Commission on the basis of a proposal from the social partners that made the original request.

In practice, the employee-side representatives are usually the European industry federations affiliated to European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which represent national unions in particular sectors of the economy. There are 12 of these federations, including:

• the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT);
• European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU);
• European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF); and
• European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF).

Many of them sit on more than one committee. Employers are represented by a wider range of sectoral organisations (62 across the 40 committees, at present), such as:

• EuroCommerce;
• the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR);
• the Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-based Industries (CEEMET); and
• the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC).

Where the sector concerned exists to a significant degree in the UK, the organisations participating in dialogue committees will usually have British affiliates.

The role of the committees is to be consulted on EU-level developments with social implications for their sector and to develop and promote social dialogue. They are provided with logistical, operational and technical support by the Commission.

Outcomes of dialogue

The Commission maintains a database of joint texts (external website) produced by the sectoral social dialogue. As at August 2010, it had recorded 550 such texts. Of these, 54% were joint opinions and 14% were declarations, while 11% were categorised as "tools" and 7% as "procedural texts". Less common types of text included guidelines (6%), policy orientations (2%) and codes of conduct (2%). Agreements made up only around 2% of the total. These take two forms: "autonomous" agreements which are implemented by the signatory organisations; and agreements which, at the request of the signatories, are given EU-wide legal force by a Directive (as provided for in arts.154 and 155 of the TFEU). Most agreements have to date resulted from consultations held by the Commission.

The most common themes of the texts were economic and/or sectoral policies (24%), social dialogue (12%), health and safety (11%), training/lifelong learning (9%), working conditions (8%) and social aspects of EU policies (7%). Other issues dealt with included employment (6%), corporate social responsibility (4%), working time (3%), equality (3%) and sustainable development (3%).

The Commission classifies the outcomes of sectoral dialogue as:

• agreements, whether or not implemented by EU Directives, which are binding and must be followed up and monitored, since they are based on art.155;
• process-oriented texts - such as frameworks of actions, guidelines, codes of conduct or policy orientations - which, while not legally binding, must be followed up, and progress in implementing them must be regularly assessed; or
• joint opinions and tools (such as declarations, guides, handbooks and websites), intended to influence European policies and to help share knowledge.

Agreements reached

The sectoral social dialogue has resulted in five agreements that have been given legal force by Directives. These accords deal with:

• the organisation of seafarers' working time (implemented by Directive 1999/63/EC);
• the organisation of the working time of mobile staff in civil aviation (Directive 2000/79/EC);
• the working conditions of mobile railway workers assigned to "interoperable cross-border services" (Directive 2005/47/EC);
• implementation of the International Labour Organisation's Maritime Labour Convention (Directive 2009/13/EC); and
• the prevention of sharps injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector (Directive 2010/32/EU).

Several sectoral agreements, usually negotiated following European Commission consultations on related themes, have been implemented by the signatories themselves. The most notable are:

• a 2004 agreement in the railways sector on a Europe-wide licensing system for train drivers involved in international traffic;
• a 2005 European agreement on the reduction of workers' exposure to the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in agriculture;
• a 2006 multisectoral agreement on the handling and use of crystalline silica, signed by the social partners in 14 industries that use this substance; and
• a 2009 accord on the implementation of European certificates in the hairdressing sector.

Other types of outcome

Process-oriented texts greatly outnumber agreements. Recent examples include:

• guidelines for drawing up gender equality action plans in local and regional government (2007);
• a code of conduct and follow-up measures on ethical cross-border recruitment and retention in the hospitals sector (2008);
• a joint position on the social aspects of corporate social responsibility in the electricity industry (2009); and
• multisectoral guidelines on tackling third-party violence and harassment related to work in local/regional government, healthcare, commerce, private security and education (2010).

Joint opinions and tools make up the largest category of outcome. Joint opinions and common contributions to consultation exercises can, according to a recent European Commission review of the dialogue, be "powerful instruments" for influencing EU policies or defending a sector's interests. It cites the influence of sectoral social partners in construction in debates on the Directives on posted workers and on services in the internal market. Recent examples of such joint opinions have been agreed by chemicals industry social partners on the EU emission trading scheme (2008), or by the sea fisheries partners on reform of the EU common fishery policy (2009). Since the economic downturn began in 2008, the social partners in many sectors have issued joint opinions, analysing the situation and calling on the EU and national authorities to take measures to help their industry - examples include chemicals, commerce, construction, live performance, road transport and woodworking.

The numerous technical tools developed by sectoral social dialogue committees aim to give a practical European dimension to specific issues. Examples include:

• a manual on ergonomics in cleaning (2007);
• a handbook on prevention of accidents and safety in sea fisheries (2007);
• a toolkit and best-practice guide on socially responsible restructuring in electricity (2008);
• a website on the posting of workers in the construction industry (2008);
• a toolkit on preventing third-party violence in commerce (2009); and
• a toolkit on demographic change, age management and competencies in the gas industry (2009).

Commission review

In 2009, 11 years after the sectoral social dialogue was relaunched in its current form, the European Commission consulted EU-level social partner organisations on the state of the process. The responses were discussed with the sectoral social partners and, on 22 July 2010, the Commission published a staff working document on "the functioning and potential of European sectoral social dialogue", which takes stock of these discussions and identifies possible ways of improving the dialogue. In the remainder of this article we highlight some of the Commission's main findings and suggestions.

The Commission describes the committees as "first and foremost, fora to discuss and agree on how to improve working conditions and industrial relations in their respective sectors". By doing so, they contribute to the modernisation of economic and social policies. The EU-level sectoral social partners have particular expertise in their sectors and in the "realities of their workplaces". They are well placed to help respond to issues such as management of change, restructuring, anticipation of skills and training needs, transitions to employment, occupational health and safety, labour market integration, youth employment, equal opportunities and sustainable development. These are all issues relevant to the EU's new "Europe 2020" jobs and growth strategy, and the European sectoral social partners are therefore increasingly being involved in the EU policy-making process.

Membership of committees

The European Commission paper points out that structural changes are affecting economic activities and employment, arising from globalisation, market developments and technological change. As a result, economic and social actors may appear or disappear within sectors. New operators such as low-cost companies in civil aviation, or private operators in postal services and telecommunications, have appeared in recent years. In the public sector, some organisations have undergone privatisation and restructuring. In addition, the structure of social partner organisations may evolve at both European and national level and lead to the emergence of new or stronger actors.

According to the Commission, new economic entrants in a market may not be interested in participating in social partner organisations, or may not be sufficiently organised to do so. However, if such new players wish to join the EU-level social dialogue, and if they meet the relevant criteria, sectoral committees should encourage their involvement, to ensure that the committees' composition reflects changes in economic and employment realities. The participation of new players can complement the representativeness of committees. Measures such as invitations to new actors to join and/or attend meetings as full members or observers can facilitate the integration of all relevant partners. The Commission will be attentive to these developments in its monitoring of the representativeness of the sectoral committees.

The Commission states that actively involving all national social partners is essential to ensure that the European social dialogue process is legitimate, and achieves effective outcomes and follow-up in all member states. It reports that all EU-level sectoral social partner organisations have extended their membership to relevant sectoral social partners in the new member states that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, though this process has not always been easy, for example because sectoral collective bargaining is underdeveloped in most new member states. EU-level social partner organisations have made progress in ensuring that affiliates from all member states take part in their delegations on committees, but more remains to be done, for example in sectors that are still largely dominated by traditional, and often state-owned, operators.

Turning to the gender aspect of committee membership, women tend to be under-represented in the employer and trade union delegations, in comparison with their weight in the sectors involved. The situation varies from sector to sector and is mainly due to the appointment process within the national affiliates of the EU-level social partner organisations. The Commission has invited the EU-level partners to work with their affiliates to achieve better gender balance in the committees.

Consultation and capacity

The involvement of the European sectoral social partners in policy-making has increased for a number of reasons. The number of formal consultations on social policy initiatives, under art.154 of the TFEU, has increased in recent years, while the social partners are also consulted on specific sectoral policies in areas such as trade, the internal market, education, industry or transport. In addition, new consultative processes are emerging.

The Commission conducts impact assessments for all its initiatives. In 2009, it introduced new guidelines for these assessments, which require consultation of the relevant sectoral social dialogue committee when an initiative has social implications for an industry. The Commission states that this gives the sector partners a new opportunity to contribute towards shaping European policies and, if the partners are to be effective in this new role, they must have the capacity to deliver timely reactions to such consultations.

The Commission is currently preparing to set up "European sector councils on skills and jobs". These councils will enable sharing of information and best practice, and make recommendations on quantitative and qualitative trends in employment and skills needs, as well as on other issues related to qualifications and competences. The councils will involve the EU-level social partners in the industry concerned, along with existing national sectoral skills and jobs "observatories", and representatives of education and training providers.

To respond positively to these increasing needs for consultation and participation in policy-making, the EU-level social partners must, according to the Commission, have the capacity to ensure that consultations are coordinated among their members, as well as being able to deliver outcomes and contributions. However, the EU-level organisations' capacity depends on that of their national affiliates, whose resources may be limited, or whose structures may still be evolving, in particular in the new member states and in sectors experiencing structural change. The Commission believes that it is crucial that national sectoral social partners assess and develop their own capacity, partly by making full use of EU funding from the Commission's social dialogue budget and the European Social Fund.

Capacity to negotiate agreements

As seen above, the EU-level sectoral social dialogue has resulted in around 10 agreements, half of which have been given legal force by EU Directives. These agreements have mainly resulted from consultations launched by the Commission. The Commission believes that the number of agreements will grow and that negotiations are becoming increasingly independent from formal consultations. There are currently negotiations starting or under way in a range of sectors, including personal services, professional football, inland waterways and sea fisheries.

However, the Commission argues that the sectoral social partners may not yet have fully exploited the potential for sectoral negotiation. For instance, major sectors where large multinational companies are prevalent (such as steel, telecommunications, chemicals and civil aviation) tend to pay less attention to the European sectoral level, because employers and workers' representatives prefer to negotiate directly at company level, including within European Works Councils. The public sector was also absent from sectoral negotiations until the agreement on sharps injuries in the hospitals sector, signed in 2009.

The Commission believes that flexible regulatory solutions are required at EU level to tackle the "increasing complexity of today's world of work". Issues such as health and safety, working conditions and working time may clearly have a specific sectoral dimension. The sectoral social partners' capacity to negotiate balanced compromises and their expertise can help them to play a very effective role in addressing specific issues at sector level when these are common to all or most member states. The Commission will continue providing technical and financial support for such negotiations. As consistency with EU law and quality in legal drafting are particularly important for agreements that are to be implemented by Directives, the Commission is ready to provide legal assistance during negotiations, where appropriate.

Synergies between sectors

The Commission supports and encourages initiatives involving several sectoral committees, and links between cross-industry and sectoral EU-level social dialogue, which it believes can contribute to promoting EU employment and social policy objectives. In recent years, these "synergies" have borne fruit in terms of both topics discussed and outcomes. For the Commission, this type of cooperation reinforces the value added by EU-level sectoral dialogue, while avoiding duplication of work and divergence between the positions of social partners in different sectors.

Important multisectoral initiatives include the 2006 agreement on the handling and use of crystalline silica, involving 14 industries, and a 2008 set of joint guidelines on the responsible awarding of public and private sector contracts, covering catering, cleaning, security and textiles.

With regard to links between the cross-industry and sectoral social dialogue, guidelines on teleworking adopted in the telecommunications committee in 2001 were followed by a cross-industry agreement on the subject in 2002, which itself influenced joint texts in several sectors. A cross-industry agreement on work-related stress reached in 2004 was subsequently referred to in joint texts in private security, construction, electricity, and central public administrations. A 2006 cross-industry agreement on harassment and violence at work did not set out detailed provisions on harassment and violence by third parties (such as customers and the public) and in 2010 the social partners in local/regional government, healthcare, commerce, private security and education agreed complementary guidelines on the third-party issue.

The Commission also highlights the transfer of experience between committees. For example, socially responsible public procurement is an issue affecting a number of sectors. Several committees worked on this from their own point of view, and the subsequent exchange of experiences resulted in the publication of a series of similar brochures/manuals to guide organisations and public authorities awarding contracts for these sectors.

Cooperation between committees requires a regular flow of information on dialogue activities and monitoring to identify items that are potentially of common interest. The Commission seeks to facilitate cross-fertilisation among committees through a liaison forum, which brings together representatives of all EU-level social partners four times a year.

Effective implementation

The capacity of the EU-level sectoral social dialogue to improve working conditions throughout Europe depends on outcomes being implemented at the workplace, which requires detailed follow-up and reporting provisions to monitor the impact, the Commission says. Most European sectoral social partner organisations have a low degree of centralisation and limited capacity to influence their national affiliates. Follow-up at national level of EU-level dialogue depends on involving national sectoral social partners effectively in EU dialogue, and on the interaction between the EU social dialogue mechanisms and national industrial relations systems. Effective follow-up at national level is also linked to the representativeness of the social partners, meaning that committees should be as inclusive as possible, and able to involve new players.

Most outcomes of EU sectoral social dialogue are "soft", in that they aim to raise awareness, disseminate good practice, or help to build consensus and confidence. Results at national level can be evaluated using qualitative indicators, but not through systematic quantitative data. Autonomous EU-level agreements commit signatories and their national affiliates to implement them at their initiative through national arrangements (such as collective agreements, codes of conduct, joint promotion of tools). The obligation to follow up is even stronger when social partners decide to negotiate an agreement that is then implemented by a Directive. This puts pressure on EU social partners to implement such agreements fully and effectively.

The Commission argues that the EU-level sectoral social partners need to invest more in monitoring processes, and to develop relevant indicators to improve implementation and evaluation of their agreed texts. The Commission can support them through coordination and technical support, including translation, and with implementation guides, awareness-raising, continuous learning processes, monitoring and reporting.

The Commission has a responsibility to monitor the work of sectoral dialogue committees and to stimulate their activities. It looks at issues such as the adoption of an appropriate work programme, appropriate rules of procedure and meaningful agendas for meetings, as well as action-oriented minutes and conclusions, and their effective follow-up. Experience has shown that committees may experience periods of relative inactivity due to conflicts between the social partners or to lack of representativeness. In such cases, the Commission will continue to provide assistance to the committee concerned, while keeping open the possibility of suspending a committee that is unable to fulfil its obligations.

Better use of EU funding

The Commission provides funding to support EU-level sectoral social dialogue. This is available for the organisation of meetings, the reimbursement of experts' expenses, and interpreting. The Commission organises more than 180 meetings a year (an average of one or two plenary meetings and three or four working group meetings per committee per year). It also supports projects through two budget headings that enable it to fund social dialogue and information and training measures at European and national level. Each year, there are some 30-50 projects involving sectoral social partner organisations and their affiliates.

The Commission wants to use this funding in an economic, efficient and effective way. It asks the sectoral social partners to draw up relevant work programmes, agendas, working documents and contributions in due time, to organise effective meetings and to make best use of facilities provided by the Commission.

Conclusions

On the basis of its review of the EU-level sectoral social dialogue, the European Commission concludes that it has made a valuable contribution, helping to improve EU employment and social policies as well as working conditions in Europe. The working document suggests that:

• sectoral social dialogue committees should adapt to new challenges and changes in policy;
• the social partners should further exploit the framework for coordination, joint action and negotiation offered by sectoral dialogue committees;
• to reinforce the representativeness of their dialogue, the EU-level sectoral social partners should review the composition of their committees regularly to ensure that they reflect changes in their sector and in the economy as a whole;
• before starting a new committee, the social partners in a sector should consider running a test phase and assess whether their administrative capacity can cope with more involvement in the EU policy-making process;
• to reinforce their capacity, particularly in new member states, national sectoral social partner organisations should make full use of EU financial support;
• special attention should be paid to consultation, consistency and synergies among sectors, using the liaison forum for discussions and exchanges of best practice;
• to give visibility to the outcomes of the EU-level dialogue and to support monitoring of implementation, the social partners should make use of all the support for coordination, technical support, awareness-raising and reporting available from the Commission; and
• the EU-level sectoral social partners and their national affiliates should continue to pay attention to delivery of their agreed outcomes.

For its part, the Commission will ensure that its financial and technical support for sectoral social dialogue committees is adequate and proportionate, so that the social partners can deliver high-quality contributions and achieve joint outcomes that are properly implemented and monitored.

This article was written by Mark Carley, European editor.

European employment policy, practice and law, September 2010