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Sozialer Dialog

Sozialer Dialog kann als Verhandlungen, Beratungen, gemeinsame Maßnahmen, Diskussionen und Informationsaustausch unter Beteiligung von Arbeitgebern und Arbeitnehmern definiert werden. Ein gut funktionierender sozialer Dialog ist ein Schlüsselinstrument für die Gestaltung der Arbeitsbedingungen, wobei eine Vielzahl von Akteuren auf verschiedenen Ebenen beteiligt sind. Er sorgt für einen Ausgleich der Interessen von Arbeitnehmern und Arbeitgebern und trägt zu wirtschaftlicher Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und zum sozialen Zusammenhalt bei.

Die jüngsten politischen Debatten auf EU-Ebene haben gezeigt, dass insbesondere seit der Krise im Jahr 2008 in den neu geführten Diskussionen über soziale Gerechtigkeit, Demokratie, Qualität der Arbeit und neue Modelle für die Arbeitsbeziehungen die traditionellen Arbeitsbeziehungen und Systeme des sozialen Dialogs infrage gestellt werden.

Dreißig Jahre nach der historischen Eröffnung des europäischen sozialen Dialogs in Val Duchesse in Brüssel brachte die Kommission mit einer hochrangigen Veranstaltung, die am 5. März 2015 stattfand und an der Sozialpartnerorganisationen aus ganz Europa teilnahmen, den Prozess eines Neubeginns des sozialen Dialogs auf den Weg. Der europäische soziale Dialog ist ein Instrument der EU-Sozialpolitik, das direkt zur Gestaltung des EU-Arbeitsrechts und der EU-Arbeitspolitik beiträgt.

 

Topic

Recent updates

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From January to June 2022, Eurofound supported the work of France's presidency of the Council of the EU, providing valuable research results on specific topics linked with the presidency priorities.

Web page
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From July to December 2023, Eurofound supported the work of Spain's presidency of the Council of the EU, providing valuable research results on specific topics linked with the presidency priorities.

Web page

EU context

Tätigkeiten von Eurofound

Politische Entscheidungsträger benötigen solide Fakten, um die auf dem Arbeitsmarkt stattfindenden Veränderungen zu verstehen und auf die sich verändernde Dynamik bei den Arbeitsbedingungen in Europa reagieren zu können. Eurofound legt Daten und Analysen zugrunde, die sich auf sein Netzwerk von Korrespondenten in den 28 EU-Mitgliedstaaten und Norwegen stützen, um Trends und Muster zu erfassen und auf Beispiele eines gut funktionierenden sozialen Dialogs auf europäischer und nationaler Ebene hinzuweisen.

Im Rahmen seiner Forschungsarbeiten untersucht Eurofound Aspekte wie Arbeitnehmerbeteiligung, Tarifverhandlungen, Mitarbeitervertretung und Arbeitsbeziehungen auf allen Ebenen. Dabei wird der Umfang untersucht, in dem sich die Arbeitsbeziehungen an das Entstehen multinationaler Organisationen angepasst haben. Zudem werden aus globaler Sicht Systeme der Arbeitsbeziehungen und Ergebnisse in Volkswirtschaften außerhalb der EU, wie den USA und Japan, verglichen.

Wichtige Beiträge

Eurofound hat im Laufe von über 40 Jahren umfassende Arbeiten zu den zahlreichen und sich verändernden Facetten des sozialen Dialogs in Europa auf den verschiedenen Ebenen (auf Unternehmensebene, nationaler, europäischer und internationaler Ebene) erstellt.

In den vergangenen Jahren hat Eurofound eingehende Analysen der verschiedenen Themen im Mittelpunkt des sozialen Dialogs durchgeführt, wie etwa 

Die Repräsentativitätsstudien, die Eurofound im Anschluss an einen Auftrag der Kommission im Jahr 2006 in einer Reihe von Sektoren durchgeführt hat, liefern die grundlegenden Informationen, die für den Aufbau und die Tätigkeit der Ausschüsse für den sektoralen sozialen Dialog in Europa notwendig sind.

Ressourcen

Das 2005 als Online-Referenzinstrument für politische Entscheidungsträger und Praktiker entwickelte Europäische Wörterbuch der Arbeitsbeziehungen ist eine wertvolle Informationsquelle zu Beschäftigung und Arbeitsbeziehungen in der EU. Die Länderprofile zum Arbeitsleben bieten einschlägige Kontextinformationen zu den Strukturen, Einrichtungen und Regelungen des Arbeitslebens in den 28 EU-Mitgliedstaaten und Norwegen sowie auf EU-Ebene.

Die Datenbanken zu Tarifverhandlungen und Löhnen, Arbeitszeiten und Tarifstreitigkeiten sollen Wissenschaftlern und politischen Entscheidungsträgern quantitative und qualitative Informationen zu diesen Themen für alle Mitgliedstaaten und Norwegen vom Jahr 2000 bis zur Gegenwart bereitstellen.

Key outputs

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In den vergangenen Jahren war über alle EU-Mitgliedstaaten hinweg – von einigen statistischen Ausreißern abgesehen – ein Rückgang der Arbeitskampfaktivität zu beobachten. Dieser Trend hat sich während der COVID-19-Pandemie fortgesetzt...

7 Februar 2022
Publication
Research report
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This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2020 for 29 countries – the 27 EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. The country reports summarise...

23 März 2021
Publication
Other
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Im Rahmen ihres Auftrags, den Dialog zwischen Arbeitgebern und Arbeitnehmern zu fördern, überwacht und analysiert Eurofound seit über 40 Jahren die Entwicklungen der Systeme der Arbeitsbeziehungen auf EU-Ebene und in...

11 Dezember 2020
Publication
Flagship report

Current and ongoing research

 

In the course of the programming period 2021–2024, Eurofound will continue regular monitoring of social dialogue, including through the EU PolicyWatch database.

Other topics addressed include:

  • Monitoring of the role of national social partners in the European semester and analysis of quality and effectiveness of their involvement 
  • Summary of discussions on capacity-building social dialogue to support a meaningful and effective social dialogue 
  • Research on industrial relations covering topics related to both social dialogue and working life developments, including updates on collectively agreed pay
  • Representativeness studies on a variety of sectors to provide the European Commission required information to assess the representativeness of European sectoral social partner organisations.

 

Eurofound expert(s)

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Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and focuses on comparative industrial relations, social dialogue and collective bargaining...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
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Mária Sedláková is a research officer in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is responsible for drafting overview reports for sectoral representativeness studies, management...

Research officer,
Working life research unit
Publications results (251)

This report looks at industrial relations practices regarding health and safety strategies in the European steel sector. The findings are based on desk research and a comparative analysis of company practices in three company case studies: ArcelorMittal in France, Rautaruukki in Finland and

08 April 2014

This study aims to provide an overview of European social partners at the cross-industry level. In common with all the studies in the representativeness study series, it adopts both a bottom-up and a top-down approach. It therefore includes all social partner organisations which are involved in

18 March 2014

This study provides information designed to aid sectoral social dialogue in the electricity sector. The study is divided into three parts: a summary of the sector’s economic and employment background; an analysis of the social partner organisations in all EU Member States, with emphasis on their

26 January 2014

There is an absence of commonly agreed definitions of key concepts such as public sector, public services and public administration, not to mention ‘central’ public administration. This absence is problematic when comparing several institutions, or even when addressing different issues within one

13 January 2014

Luxembourg, with a population of 502,066 in 2010, is a unitary state with two layers of government: the dominant central government and the municipalities, or communes. The state is characterised by a highly centralised administrative structure in that all legislative powers are concentrated at

13 January 2014

Finland is a unitary state where the highest organs of government are the parliament, the president and the government. The Finnish public administration has two tiers: the state administration and the self-governing municipalities. The state administration operates on all three administrative

13 January 2014

The total number of people employed in the public sector grew from around 317,000 in 2001 to 360,000 in 2008, a growth of 14%. Excluding commercial state-sponsored bodies, the numbers employed in the public service grew from 270,000 in 2000 to 320,000 in 2008, a growth of 19%. Since the financial

13 January 2014

Germany is a federal country made up of 16 federal states (Länder) and the federation (Bund). The Länder are states with sovereign rights and responsibilities that are not devolved from the federation, but are granted to them by the Basic Law. Each state has its own government, parliament, courts

13 January 2014

During the last few decades, public administration workers have been subject to a number of structural, modernising reforms, in a framework often designated as ‘new public management’. The current economic and financial crisis has also meant that the steep rise in public debt has prompted many

12 January 2014

Die dritte Europäische Unternehmenserhebung (ECS) bildet Praktiken in Betrieben mit zehn oder mehr Mitarbeitern in der EU28 sowie in der ehemaligen jugoslawischen Republik Mazedonien, in Island, Montenegro und der Türkei ab. Insgesamt wurden mehr als 30 000 Betriebe von Gallup Europe befragt, wobei

19 December 2013

Online resources results (435)

Patterns and trends in social partner involvement in times of crises. 20-21 March 2023, EMCO meeting hosted by the Swedish Presidency, Stockholm. Presentation by Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras, Research Manager, Eurofound.

23 März 2023
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Mixed impacts of COVID-19 on social dialogue and collective bargaining in 2020

​​​​​​​A first analysis of developments in working life in 2020 shows that the COVID-19 pandemic had a considerable impact on social dialogue and collective bargaining in the EU, Norway and the UK, albeit to varying degrees. While in some countries, standard procedures were by and large maintained

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Changing priorities: The impact of COVID-19 on national policy agendas

A first analysis of working life policies and developments in 2020 shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has in some cases speeded up and in other cases slowed down several policy developments in the EU, Norway and the UK, albeit to varying degrees, and dependent on national contexts. Increased

EU level: Latest developments in working life Q2 2020

Activities of the European Commission and social partners regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the high-level hearing on implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and a fair EU minimum wage initiative are the main topics of interest in this article. This EU update reports on the latest

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EU seeks views on the minimum wage

Against a background of growing polarisation, it is worth remembering the model of social dialogue that allows us each year to debate and reach thousands of agreements that start from different and distant positions and interests.

Latvia: latest working life developments Q2 2018

A new agreement on overtime pay, a warning about the power balance between employers and employees, an increase in wages and a workforce deficit are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Latvia in the second quarter of

Czech Republic: Latest working life developments – Q4 2017

New employment strategies to address labour shortages, the post-election political shift in the Chamber of Deputies and an award-winning documentary on working conditions are the main points of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the

Lithuania: Trilateral agreement promoting social dialogue signed

An agreement on reforms crucial to Lithuania’s economic growth was signed on 16 October after almost a year of discussions. The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and representatives of the social partners, identifies long-term objectives such as improving efficiency in the

EU-level: Latest working life developments – Q3 2017

Launch of the second phase consultation of social partners of the Written Statement Directive, social partners’ positions regarding aspects of the European Pillar of Social Rights​ , and President Juncker's State of the Union address are the main topics of interest in this article. This country


Blogs results (6)

The COVID-19 pandemic made us acutely aware of how dependent our society is on certain essential workers. We felt deep gratitude towards workers in healthcare especially, because they worked ceaselessly in often-difficult conditions.

22 November 2023
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Decision-makers approached minimum wage setting for 2021 cautiously due to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Despite this, nominal statutory minimum wages rose in most Member States and the UK, although at lower rates than in recent years.

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In the context of the ongoing trend of a fall in collective bargaining coverage, and recent calls at EU level to promote collective bargaining coverage as an instrument to support fair and decent wages, new data from Eurofound’s fourth European Company Survey (ECS) show that two-thirds of workers (i

28 Oktober 2020
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The workings of industrial relations are constantly evolving. In this blog piece, Eurofound authors Christian Welz and Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras discuss a tool that Eurofound has developed to enable this process of change to be monitored and analysed, enabling stakeholders in Member States to asse

28 März 2018
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Europe has gone through significant economic change over the past decade. Businesses have had to manage the challenges posed by the financial crisis, globalisation and a rapidly changing labour market. Eurofound's new report Win-win arrangements: Innovative measures through social dialogue at compan

3 Oktober 2016
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The new European Commission (EC) under President Jean-Claude Juncker is committed to re-launching social dialogue and a first step was taken with the organisation of a high-level conference in Brussels on 5 March. The aim of the conference was to discuss concrete ways to strengthen social dialogue w

20 April 2015
Upcoming publications results (7)

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the graphical industry. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation

July 2025

This report reviews the quality of the national social partners’ involvement in the implementation of the reforms and investments shaping the digital and green transition in the context of national policymaking. These reforms and investments stem mainly from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

March 2025

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the extractive industries sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective par

December 2024

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the construction sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participatio

December 2024

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the chemical sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in

December 2024

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the road transport sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participat

December 2024

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the postal and courier activities sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effec

November 2024

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