Conference on tripartism

EU Presidency Conference on Tripartism in an enlarged European Union

Co-organised by the Danish Ministry of Employment and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Hotel Comwell, Elsinore, Denmark

29-30 October 2002

• Introduction

• Background

• Programme

• Venue & contact details

See also conference information from the Danish Ministry of Employment.

Speech abstract - Patricia O'Donovan

Director of InFocus Programme on Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration, International Labour Office, Geneva

Workshop 2: Social Inclusion and Tripartism

This workshop will discuss how tripartism can support and promote social inclusion. It will take as a starting point for the discussion the definitions of tripartism and social inclusion used by the EU.

The focus will be on examining successful examples of how tripartism in different countries at different levels (EU, national and local) has led to positive outcomes in relation to increasing employment opportunities for marginalized groups in the labour market, promoting gender equality, wider participation in policy-making and partnerships with disadvantaged communities.

The workshop will try to identify the key factors in relation to the processes, institutions, economic and political environment which contributed to these success stories. This will raise questions about the different experiences of tripartism and its main characteristics including the capacity of the more traditional forms of tripartism to adapt and change to meet the challenges posed by the social inclusion agenda (participation, diversity, gender, etc).

Enlargement will bring new challenges to the goal of 'social inclusion through social dialogue and partnership' (Danish Presidency). While much progress has been made in the Accession countries in establishing the necessary institutions and legal frameworks for tripartism, there are still some obstacles to realizing the full potential of tripartism in tackling social exclusion.

Representative workers' and employers' organizations are still weak in many Accession countries and lack the capacity to participate effectively in economic and social policy-making at national level. Collective bargaining coverage is relatively low and sectoral level social dialogue is poorly developed in many of these countries. These underlying weaknesses need to be addressed if tripartism is to play its full role in promoting social inclusion in the enlarged EU.

In the early stages of transition, social dialogue helped to overcome some major social risks but there needs to be strong political will sustained over time to nurture this involvement and to enable the social partners to play their role in the construction of a fairer and more inclusive society. Some examples will be given of how the ILO is working with the social partners and with labour ministries in the Accession countries to strengthen their tripartite institutions and the capacity of the social partners.

The workshop will discuss the main processes at EU level that are designed to target social exclusion and will consider the effectiveness of the tripartite component of these processes.

• Has the European Employment Strategy been effective in 'getting Europe back to work'?

• How is the adaptation of the open method of co-ordination working in the field of social inclusion?

• Are the employment strategy and the social inclusion strategy being pursued in an integrated way, particularly at national level?

• How real is the tripartite component of all these processes?

• Does the new Community Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion (2002-06) sufficiently recognize and reinforce the role of tripartism and social dialogue?