Social Dialogue - Understanding the New Role of the Social Partners in Europe

From an international perspective, the European social dialogue culture is regarded as a cornerstone of the social and economic model of Europe: social dialogue is better developed in Europe than in any other region in the world. However, due to the great variety of labour market structures among Member States, the dialogue between social partners at cross-border and EU level is not proceeding smoothly. In addition, the Central and Eastern European economies are suffering from weak industrial relations.

This EIPA-CEFASS seminar aims to provide insights, proposals and solutions regarding the following issues: the role of social partners, the labour law background (existing soft law), framework agreements relating to social dialogue, intersectoral/company-level dialogue, consultation procedures, bi- and tripartite bargaining and EU social dialogue with focus on the public administration sector.