Social dialogue

This paper provides an overview of the involvement of the social partners in policymaking and social dialogue in recent years, primarily at national peak level. It will focus on the evolution of social dialogue over the past decade and a half in terms of its response to external shocks, focusing on three key periods: the financial and economic crisis between 2008 and 2012; the subsequent recovery and consolidation phase between 2013 and early 2020; the recent series of new crises, starting in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic up to today’s combined challenges of inflation, the ‘cost of living crisis’ and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In recent years, apart from some intermittent spikes, there has been a general decrease in industrial action across the EU Member States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend has continued, with the most significant labour disputes not surprisingly occurring in the human health and social services sector, the education sector and the transport and logistics sector. This report analyses the data collected in 2018–2019 by Eurofound during the piloting of its Industrial Action Monitor (IAM) database. Using cluster analysis, the research classified industrial action in Europe into five categories: national disputes of interest and rights, sometimes involving different forms of employment; extended disputes about collective pay agreements; localised disputes about employment problems, working time and restructuring, with short work stoppages; localised disputes about workers’ rights and grievances over company policies; and disputes concerning public policies.

In terms of specific issues, problems over pay accounted for over 40% of disputes, employment problems accounted for 20%, other aspects of working conditions accounted for 16% and protests accounted for 13%. Noting the lack of complete data on industrial action in Europe, the analysis points to the need for a systematic collection of empirical evidence in the future to provide a sound basis for comparative analysis.

Since 2016, Eurofound has closely monitored the involvement of national social partners in policymaking as part of the European Semester cycle. In 2020, the focus was on their involvement during the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak. While the pandemic has presented a huge challenge to social dialogue, the results of the analysis highlight how social dialogue can be an effective tool in shaping policy initiatives and finding solutions to emergency situations affecting businesses, workers, the economy and society. It is clear that the participation of social partners in the design and implementation of national recovery and resilience plans in 2021 will be key in the recovery process and for strengthening social dialogue going forward.

This report is based on the fourth edition of the European Company Survey (ECS), which was carried out jointly by Eurofound and Cedefop in 2019. It describes a wide range of practices and strategies implemented by European companies in terms of work organisation, human resource management, skills use and skills development, and employee voice. The report shows how these practices are combined and how the resulting ‘bundles of practices’ are associated with two outcomes beneficial to employees and employers: workplace well-being and establishment performance.

The analysis finds that the establishments that are most likely to generate this win–win outcome are those that combine a high degree of worker autonomy, a balanced motivational strategy, a comprehensive training and learning strategy, and high levels of direct employee involvement in decision-making, as well as offering managerial support for these practices. To boost the adoption of employee-oriented practices – particularly in relation to autonomy, skills and employee involvement – managers should be offered appropriate support, as they play a key role in the decision to initiate workplace change. They are also crucial to its success, as they must continuously support the workplace practices implemented.