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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)

The aim of this report is to add to the discussion on how Eurofound can contribute to supporting capacity building of social partners for effective social dialogue. The report includes a review by Eurofound aimed at identifying the capacity-building needs and initiatives of social partners in

10 September 2020

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

10 August 2020

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

04 August 2020

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its interaction with European Works Councils (EWCs), which can act as a link between different

16 June 2020

This report investigates the quality of the national social partners’ involvement in designing and implementing reforms and policies in the context of the European Semester 2018–2019 and in the elaboration of the National Reform Programmes. As previously reported by Eurofound, there is a positive

09 June 2020

European sectoral social dialogue plays an important role in promoting dialogue between the social partners in industrial sectors at European level. There are currently 43 European sectoral social dialogue committees that bring together the social partners from the EU Member States – representatives

06 December 2019

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

21 November 2019

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

05 November 2019

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

05 November 2019

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

07 October 2019

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 mars 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 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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