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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 study looks at the articulation and the complex multi-level links between European and national levels of social dialogue. It examines the factors that facilitate as well as those that hinder the successful engagement of national social partners and their ability to promote their own interests

13 July 2018

The latest European Semester cycle, covering the period 2016–2017, has highlighted a range of issues regarding the quality of involvement by the social partners in the elaboration of the 2017 National Reform Programme (NRP), as well as in the implementation of the country-specific recommendations

06 March 2018

Eurofound’s 2016 report Mapping key dimensions of industrial relations identified four key dimensions of industrial relations: industrial democracy, industrial competitiveness, social justice, and quality of work and employment. This report builds upon that earlier study, developing a dashboard of

29 January 2018

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for central government administration. The aim of Eurofound’s series of studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national

17 November 2017

This study provides information designed to encourage sectoral social dialogue in the tanning and leather sector. The aim of Eurofound’s series of studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and supranational social partner organisations in the field of industrial relations in

07 November 2017

This study provides information designed to encourage sectoral social dialogue in the footwear industry. The aim of Eurofound’s series of studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and supranational social partner organisations in the field of industrial relations in selected

19 October 2017

Developments in Working Life in Europe is part of a series of annual reviews published by Eurofound and provides an overview of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway.

25 September 2017

Innovation is an important driver of improved competitiveness, productivity and growth potential. This report explores which workplace practices have the strongest links to innovative company behaviour, looking at innovation in the form of new or significantly changed products or processes, new or

22 June 2017

This study provides information designed to encourage sectoral social dialogue in railways and urban public transport. The aim of Eurofound’s series of studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and supranational social partner organisations in the field of industrial

03 April 2017

This report provides an update on the role of national social partners in the European Semester process over the period 2015–2016, describing the main developments and changes compared with a previous Eurofound study on their involvement during the period 2011–2014.

24 February 2017

Online resources results (435)

Poland: Latest working life developments – Q3 2016

A protest in the public healthcare system, discontent in the education sector, significant legislative initiatives and support for a ban on Sunday shop opening are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Poland in the

Greece: Public opinion and social dialogue on labour market reforms

Ahead of further negotiations on the terms of the Greek bailout, two recent surveys are directly linked to the issues under negotiation and reflect the views of public opinion. The government has also organised tripartite meetings with social partners in an attempt to seek mutually acceptable

Finland: Tripartite Competitiveness Pact signed

The ‘Competitiveness Pact’, a tripartite labour market agreement, was signed in June 2016 after over a year of difficult negotiations. The Pact involves a nationally and internationally exceptional deterioration of workers’ terms and conditions. The negotiation process had disruptive repercussions

Denmark: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

The debate on EU membership sparked by the Brexit referendum, the current state of tripartite negotiations on the integration of refugees and an occupational health and safety case at Siemens Wind Power are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest

Slovenia: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

Deterioration of social dialogue, discontent among public sector workers after the police wage increase, small wins for workers and vocational education and training priorities are among the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working

EU Level: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

The latest Country Specific Recommendations for Member States, the recent EU-level boost for social dialogue, the latest developments on the revision of the Posting of Workers Directive and recent migration initiatives are among the main topics of interest in this article. This update reports on the

Lithuania: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

The debate on the controversial new Labour Code, the opening of an information centre for posted and migrant workers, and the rise in the minimum monthly wage are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Lithuania in the

Romania: Relaunch of the Economic and Social Council

A new Government emergency ordinance is expected to re-launch the activity of the most important consultative tripartite body, the Economic and Social Council.

France: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

Adoption of the new labour code, the failure of collective bargaining on unemployment schemes and a study on the negative impact of night work are among the main points of interest of this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in France in the second quarter

Romania: Latest working life developments – Q2 2016

Opposition to new measures to reduce public sector wage inequality, a fresh start for the Social and Economic Council, and new measures to reconcile family and working life are the main topics of interest of this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in Romanian working


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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