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Dialogue social

Le dialogue social inclut les négociations, les consultations, les actions conjointes, les discussions et le partage d’informations impliquant des employeurs et des travailleurs. Un dialogue social satisfaisant est un outil essentiel permettant de façonner les conditions de travail, et qui implique toute une série d’acteurs à divers niveaux. Il équilibre les intérêts des travailleurs et des employeurs, et contribue à la fois à la compétitivité économique et à la cohésion sociale.

Les débats politiques récents au niveau de l’UE ont, notamment depuis la crise de 2008, attiré l’attention sur l’émergence de nouveaux débats concernant la justice sociale, la démocratie, la qualité du travail, ainsi que de nouveaux modèles de relations du travail, débats qui remettent en cause les modes traditionnels de relations industrielles et de dialogue social.

Trente ans après l’instauration historique du dialogue social européen à Val Duchesse (Bruxelles), la Commission a relancé le processus d’un nouveau départ pour le dialogue social, lors d’une réunion de haut niveau réunissant le 5 mars 2015 les organisations de partenaires sociaux de toute l’Europe. Le dialogue social européen est un instrument de la politique sociale de l’UE, qui contribue directement à l’élaboration de la législation et des politiques de l’UE dans le domaine du travail.

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

Le travail d’Eurofound

Les décideurs politiques ont besoin d’éléments solides pour comprendre les changements survenant sur le lieu de travail et répondre à la dynamique changeante des relations industrielles en Europe. Eurofound utilise les données et les analyses tirées de son réseau de correspondants dans les 28 États membres de l’UE et en Norvège pour cartographier les tendances et les modèles et attirer l’attention sur les exemples de dialogue social satisfaisant, à la fois à l’échelle européenne et à l’échelle nationale.

Les recherches d’Eurofound portent sur des aspects tels que la participation des travailleurs, les conventions collectives, la représentation des salariés et les relations industrielles à tous les niveaux. Elles examinent dans quelle mesure les relations industrielles se sont adaptées à l’émergence des organisations multinationales. Elles adoptent également une perspective mondiale en comparant les systèmes de relations industrielles et leurs résultats dans des économies extérieures à l’UE, telles que les États-Unis et le Japon.

Principales contributions

Eurofound a réalisé depuis plus de quarante ans un vaste ensemble de travaux qui ont dressé l’inventaire des facettes changeantes et multiples du dialogue social en Europe, et ce à différents niveaux: l’entreprise, le pays, l’Europe et le monde.

Durant ces dernières années, Eurofound a effectué des analyses approfondies de diverses questions situées au cœur du dialogue social, telles que: 

Les études sur la représentativité menées par Eurofound dans de multiples secteurs à la suite d’un mandat reçu de la Commission en 2006 fournissent les informations de base nécessaires à la création et au fonctionnement des comités européens de dialogue social sectoriel.

Ressources

Conçu en 2005 en tant qu’outil de référence en ligne pour les décideurs et les praticiens, le dictionnaire des relations industrielles européennes est une réserve précieuse d’informations sur les relations du travail et les relations industrielles dans l’UE. Les profils nationaux sur la vie professionnelle fournissent des informations contextuelles pertinentes sur les structures, les institutions et les réglementations sous-tendant la vie active dans les États membres de l’EU à 28 et en Norvège, ainsi qu’à l’échelle de l’Union européenne.

Les bases de données sur les négociations salariales collectives et sur les rémunérations, le temps de travail et les conflits collectifs visent à fournir aux chercheurs et aux décideurs des informations quantitatives et qualitatives sur ces sujets dans tous les États membres de l’UE et en Norvège, de l’an 2000 jusqu’à l’heure actuelle.

Key outputs

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Ces dernières années, hormis quelques pics occasionnels, il a été constaté une baisse générale des actions syndicales dans tous les États membres de l’Union. Pendant la pandémie de Covid-19, cette...

7 février 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 mars 2021
Publication
Other
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Dans le cadre de son mandat visant à favoriser le dialogue entre les employeurs et les travailleurs, Eurofound surveille et analyse l’évolution des systèmes de relations industrielles à l’échelle de...

11 décembre 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)

The third wave of Eurofound’s European Company Survey was carried out in 2013. It surveyed management representatives in over 24,000 establishments; where available, employee representatives were also interviewed – in 6,800 of these establishments.

27 March 2015

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

20 March 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on EU-level developments in collective employment relations during the final quarter of 2014. Social dialogue structure and process reforms are the main focus of this report.

05 March 2015

This study provides information designed to support sectoral social dialogue in the local and regional government sector. The study is divided into three parts: a summary of the sector’s background, with a special focus on industrial relations; an analysis of the social partner organisations in all

02 March 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on EU-level developments in industrial relations and working conditions during the third quarter of 2014. The new European Commission and its priorities, issues around working time and gender equality are the main focus of this

18 February 2015

This report describes the main developments in industrial relations and working conditions in 2013 in the 28 EU Member States and in Norway, from both a national and EU-level perspective. Beginning with an overview of the current economic and political context in these countries, the report goes on

16 January 2015

This study provides information aimed at encouraging sectoral social dialogue in the chemical 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

28 November 2014

This report examines four scenarios of social partner cooperation in the hairdressing sector, aimed at improving the quality of work and employment. The scenarios are based on trends that reveal high impact and high uncertainty qualities, such as the re-evaluation of the sector as a craft sector

16 June 2014

Micro and small companies constitute the backbone of private business in Europe, accounting for nearly 99% of all enterprises, more than half of total employment in the private sector and an even greater proportion of new jobs. Despite their crucial place in the economy, there has been little

20 May 2014

The issue of wages has attracted particular attention at European level since the onset of the economic crisis. Changes in economic governance, notably within the European semester, have prompted discussions on wage‑setting mechanisms. While, overall, wage‑bargaining regimes have remained relatively

13 April 2014

Online resources results (435)

New national agreement on continuing training

At the end of 1996, the major trade unions and employers' associations signed the Second National Agreement on Continuing Training (II Acuerdo Nacional de Formación Continua), which was later endorsed by a tripartite agreement between these organisations and the Government. The new agreements build

Employers and unions adopt positions on labour market reform

Employers and unions want to reduce the amount of temporary recruitment and the number of types of employment contract. They also want to increase their freedom to negotiate labour market issues through collective bargaining. These are the key issues in the current debate over a new round of labour

The future of the social dialogue at Community level

On 18 September 1996, the European Commission adopted a /Communication Concerning the Development of the Social Dialogue Process at Community Level/ (COM(96) 448 final). Launching the Communication, the commissioner responsible for social affairs, Padraig Flynn, said that the time had come to reform

Unemployment as the focus for collective bargaining at national level

In recent years pressure has mounted on all parties involved to rethink and revise the traditional policies and practices of Greek industrial relations as well as to promote social dialogue between employers and employees. As a result of changing conditions, some believe that a new era in industrial

The 1997 bargaining round previewed

The majority of Norwegian wage agreements are of two years' duration, and the current settlements will expire during 1998. However, issues relating to remuneration will be renegotiated at central level in 1997. Most of the agreements between LO (the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions or


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 novembre 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 octobre 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 mars 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 octobre 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 avril 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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