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Social dialog

Social dialog kan definieras som förhandlingar, samråd, gemensamma åtgärder, diskussioner och informationsutbyte mellan arbetsgivare och arbetstagare. En väl fungerande social dialog är en viktig förutsättning för att skapa goda arbetsvillkor, och den omfattar många olika aktörer på olika nivåer. Den skapar balans mellan arbetstagarnas och arbetsgivarnas intressen och bidrar till både ekonomisk konkurrenskraft och social sammanhållning.

Den senaste tidens politiska diskussioner på EU-nivå har belyst att det – framför allt sedan krisen 2008 – har växt fram nya diskussioner om social rättvisa, demokrati, arbetets kvalitet och nya modeller för arbetsmarknadsrelationer, som utmanar de traditionella näringslivsrelationerna och systemen för social dialog.

Trettio år efter den historiska invigningen av den europeiska sociala dialogen i Val Duchesse i Bryssel, inledde kommissionen den 5 mars 2015 en process för en nystart för den sociala dialogen vid ett evenemang på hög nivå som samlade representanter från arbetsmarknadens parter från hela Europa. Den europeiska sociala dialogen är ett instrument för EU:s socialpolitik som direkt bidrar till att utforma EU:s arbetslagstiftning och politik.

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

Eurofounds arbete

Beslutsfattarna behöver underbyggda bevis för att förstå de förändringar som sker på arbetsmarknaden och reagera på den föränderliga dynamiken i Europas arbetsmarknadsrelationer. Eurofound använder uppgifter och analyser från sitt nätverk av medarbetare i de 28 EU-medlemsstaterna och Norge för att kartlägga trender och mönster och för att framhålla exempel på välfungerade sociala dialoger på både europeisk och nationell nivå.

Eurofounds forskning går in på aspekter som arbetstagarnas delaktighet, kollektiv förhandling, arbetstagarrepresentativitet och arbetsmarknadsrelationer på alla nivåer. Man tittar också på i vilken utsträckning arbetsmarknadsrelationerna har anpassats till multinationella organisationers framväxt. Det finns även ett globalt perspektiv där system för arbetsmarknadsrelationer och resultat jämförs med ekonomier utanför EU, exempelvis USA och Japan.

Viktiga bidrag

Eurofound har under de senaste 40 åren producerat en stor mängd arbete som kartlägger de många och föränderliga aspekterna av den sociala dialogen i Europa på olika nivåer – på företagsnivå såväl som på nationell, europeisk och internationell nivå.

Under de senaste åren har Eurofound gjort djupanalyser av olika frågor som utgör den sociala dialogens kärna, exempelvis 

Eurofounds representativitetsstudier, som genomförts inom en rad sektorer på grundval av ett mandat från kommissionen 2006, ger den grundläggande information som behövs för att inrätta och driva de branschvisa kommittéerna inom den sociala dialogen på europeisk nivå.

Resurser

Ordlistan över arbetsmarknadsbegrepp, European Industrial Relations Dictionary, utarbetades 2005 som ett referensverktyg på nätet för beslutsfattare och andra aktörer och är en värdefull samling information om sysselsättning och arbetsmarknadsrelationer i EU. I landprofilerna om arbetsliv finns relevant kontextuell information om de strukturer, institutioner och regler som styr arbetslivet i EU:s 28 medlemsstater och Norge, samt på EU-nivå.

Databaserna över kollektiv löneförhandling och löner, arbetstid och kollektiva tvister syftar till att förse forskare och beslutsfattare med kvantitativ och kvalitativ information om dessa ämnen i alla medlemsstater och Norge från 2000 till nutid.

Key outputs

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Under senare år har det, förutom under vissa periodiska toppar, förekommit en allmän minskning av stridsåtgärder i medlemsstaterna. Under covid-19-pandemin har denna trend fortsatt, och de största arbetsmarknadskonflikterna relaterade till...

7 februari 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

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

18 January 2016

This report studies practices in EU establishments for direct and indirect employee participation in decision-making. Indirect employee participation is the involvement of employee representatives in decision-making processes, while direct employee participation describes direct interaction between

14 December 2015

Collective bargaining systems in the EU have undergone a steady change since the end of the 1990s. But as businesses across Europe struggle to respond to intensifying global competition, pressure from employers for greater flexibility in collective bargaining is increasing, especially since the 2008

04 November 2015

Since the beginning of 2015 a number of major collective agreements at national, sectoral and cross-sectoral level have been renewed, renegotiated, or under discussion. Several of the examples presented here are from the countries that have been hit hardest during the crisis and/or in which

28 October 2015

The need to reform pension systems is one of the key challenges for social policymakers in Europe. This article provides an update of how the EU 28 and Norway are tackling this issue in the face of demographic change, focusing in particular on the involvement of the social partners and governments.

02 October 2015

Social dialogue is a key part of the European social model, with European social dialogue having been launched at the historic Val Duchesse meeting 30 years ago. However, since then, established approaches to social dialogue in Europe have been challenged by industrial and social change.

29 September 2015

This study provides information designed to aid the functioning of sectoral social dialogue in the construction sector. The study is divided into three parts: a summary of the sector’s economic background; an analysis of the social partner organisations in all EU Member States (apart from Croatia)

23 September 2015

European Works Councils (EWCs) provide an important vehicle for transnational information and consultation in multinational companies. This report explores the efforts of 10 EWCs to make these bodies optimally fit for purpose for European company level social dialogue. Looking at the developments in

10 June 2015

This article synopsises the development of European social dialogue and then discusses some ideas that might guide the European institutions and the social partners as social dialogue within in the EU is relaunched, such as more autonomy for the social partners, better links between EU and national

11 May 2015

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

10 April 2015

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 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 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 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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