social dialogue

Social dialogue at the heart of the European Union's Green Deal

"The need for skilled workers has never been so high. The need for the right work-life balance and quality jobs has never been so strongly felt in our societies. Social dialogue stands central in the work of the Belgian presidency," said Alexander De Croo, Belgian Prime Minister, on behalf of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, at the Tripartite Social Summit. 

The Tripartite Social Summit is a forum for dialogue between the EU institutions at president level and the European social partners at top management level. The summit is co-chaired by the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.

Held on 20 March, the summit focused on "An economically and socially strong Europe to play its role in the world". The participants discussed issues concerning an industrial strategy complementing the green deal with quality jobs at its heart; a single market that delivers for enterprises and workers; and tackling skills and labour shortages.

Labour and skills shortages

Labour and skills shortages have been increasing in all EU Member States over the last decade. These shortages are driven by demographic shifts, the demand for new skills linked to technological developments and the green and digital transitions, the drive to develop further EU industrial sectors, defence and security needs, and challenges related to working conditions in some sectors and locations. The European Commission has identified 42 ‘shortage' occupations, with some differences across Member States.

On the same date, the European Commission presented an action plan to tackle those shortages, which is part of the EU's strategy to boost its competitiveness and enhance its economic and social resilience. The action plan is also a key deliverable of the European Year of Skills and a follow up to the Val Duchesse Social Partners Summit of January 2024. The European Commission has come forward with it, in cooperation with social partners, whose role is crucial to implement solutions to address these challenges. The plan sets out actions in five areas to be implemented swiftly at the EU, national, and social partners' levels, namely:

  • supporting underrepresented people to enter the labour market; 
  • providing support for skills development, training and education; 
  • improving working conditions; 
  • improving fair intra-EU mobility for workers and learners;
  • attracting talent from outside the EU. 

Social dialogue and the ETF's partner countries

Within this context the ETF supports social dialogue in its partner countries. For the first time this year, with the support of Eurofound, the EU's Agency for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions based in Dublin, social partner representatives from the Western Balkan economies are participating in a Tripartite Exchange Seminar with a number of events taking place with dedicated time and space for social learning. The seminar aims to improve the capacity of social partners and governments so that they can engage and act effectively in social dialogue. They will engage with European-level social dialogue, establish and participate in new networks with EU Member States, and deepen their understanding of the importance of social partnership for the green and just transition. More details will follow throughout this year on those activities. More

At the recent Skills Fair on Quality Apprenticeships, organised by the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITCILO) with ETF support to promote the adoption of the ILO’s Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, social dialogue was identified as one of the key aspects at the core of designing, implementing, and governing well-functioning apprenticeship systems.  

“Many issues related to apprenticeships require consensus building across the constituents of social dialogue, for example the rights of apprentices, cost-sharing modalities between companies and the public sector, and quality,” said Matthias Themel, ETF expert, who led the session on social dialogue.

“Adequate governance arrangements need to be in place, giving clear roles and responsibilities to the various institutions and stakeholders, including tripartite actors,” he added. 

On 20 March the European Commission launched an initiative to improve the working conditions for trainees and combat regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships; and by revising the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships address issues of quality and inclusiveness, such as fair pay and access to social protection.