Hello, and welcome to this part, in which we will focus on social dialogue. My name is MoniKa Tomaszewska, and I am a professor of labor law at the University of Gdańsk, Poland. In this part, together with my colleague, Michal Szypniewski, we will bring you closer to the matters of social dialogue at European Union level. In this particular video, we will begin with a definition. What is social dialogue at EU level? After that, we will discuss the levels of the European Social Dialogue that can be distinguished. Also, we will discuss the collective agreements at EU level, the consultation and negotiation procedure, and the representativeness criteria. We will look at the EU sectorial social dialogue in the transport sector, and end this lecture with some social dialogue in practice, when we discuss the role of social dialogue by the amendment of the posting of workers directive. The definition of social dialogue at EU level. There is no uniform pattern of social dialogue. Each country has its own rules, customs, and practices which define social dialogue. The International Labor Organization, ILO, broadly defined social dialogue as all types of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between or among representatives of governments, employers, and workers on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy. The European Social Dialogue refers to discussions, consultations, negotiations, and joint actions involving organizations representing the two sides of industry, employers, and workers. It takes two main forms. One, a tripartite dialogue, not only involving the European employers and trade union organizations, but also public authorities. Two, a bipartite dialogue between the European employers and trade union organizations. The European Social Dialogue plays an important role. EU institutions are obliged to take into account the European social partners' opinions on the legislative proposals. Moreover, the European social partners are entitled to enter into negotiation and reach an agreement, which can be implemented either by council decision or autonomously. I will get back on that later on. Levels of the European Social Dialogue. The social dialogue is recognized as a pillar of the European social model. Three European levels of social dialogue are distinguished. One, cross-industry level, a dialogue between the social partners whose scope covers the whole EU economy and labor market in general. This form of social dialogue is open to those of the social partners that are representative for all economic sectors. There are three main employers' organizations operating on this cross-border level and one employees' organization. Two, sectoral level. European sectoral social dialogue committees are the place for consultations on sector-specific issues. Sectoral committees are attended by representatives of employers and employees representing the field or a particular industry. There are many different sectors in which this EU social dialogue takes place. A special sector committee is road transport. Three, company level. The main forum for European level social dialogue within companies are European Works Councils. European Works Councils can represent the view of employees working in the company or group of companies. European Works Councils enter into negotiation with the company on a regular basis. Collective labor agreements. As mentioned, the European Social Dialogue refers not only to consultation, but also to negotiation, including the power to conclude collective agreements. Article 155 TFEU sets out that the dialogue between management and labor at EU level may, if they wish so, lead to contractual relations, including agreements. These agreements can be implemented either by the social partners themselves as autonomous agreements or by a council decision. The first option is applicable to all cases. The agreement reached is implemented by the social partners autonomously, that is, entirely internal national procedure. Quite a number of cross-sectoral and sectoral agreements have been implemented this way, such as the Autonomous Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work 2005 and the Autonomous Agreement on Inclusive Labours Market 2010. The second option allows the council, on a proposal from the commission, to adopt the agreement reached as a part of directive. The agreement must, in such a case, deal with topics that fall within the EU's competence described in Article 153 TFEU. Examples of agreement implemented by a council decision are the Agreement on Parental Leave 1995, the Agreement on Part-time Work 1997, and Agreement on Fixed-term Work 1999. Representativeness criteria. The treaty does not set out whom the social partners are that need to be consulted. The commission filled this gap and introduced this so-called criteria of representativeness in its communication concerning the application of the Agreement on Social Policy. The organizations to be consulted must: A, relate to specific sectors or categories and be organized at European level; B, consist of organizations which are themselves an integral and recognized part of Member State social partners structures and have the capacity to negotiate agreements and which are representative of several Member States; C, have adequate structures to ensure their effective participation in the work of the committees. In terms of social dialogue, the constituent future is the ability of such organizations to negotiate on behalf of the members and to conclude binding agreements. Currently, 57 organizations fulfill these criteria. The EU sectoral social dialogue in the road transport sector. The sectoral social dialogue committee in road transport has a long history. An informal dialogue was set up in 1965. The road transport sectoral social dialogue was formally established in 1999. The committee meets three to four times a year. Organizations listed by the European Commission as a sectoral social partner organization consulted under Article 154 of the TFEU. On the employees' side, the European Transport Workers' Federation, ETF. On the employer side, the International Road Transport Union, IRU. Difficult compromises. Social dialogue is very useful but it's no guarantee for success. A good example of that is the lack of progress of amending Directive 96/71 on posted workers. The following reservations were made during the process of amending the directive. A part of the business community takes the view that the proposed amendments contravene the Proportionality Principle. BUSINESSEUROPE and UAPME did not support the revision. The European Builders Confederation did support the proposed principle, "equal pay for equal work in the same place". Trade unions by and large also supported revision. In particular, the idea of "equal pay for equal work in the same place". The social partners could not reach an agreement on this topic. With this, we have come to an end of this video lecture, which I hope was useful to you. Thank you very much for your attention.
