Strengthening social dialogue in the European Union
18.4.2023
Question for oral answer O-000019/2023
to the Council
Rule 136
Dragoş Pîslaru, Agnes Jongerius, Stelios Kympouropoulos, Abir Al-Sahlani, Rosa D'Amato, Elżbieta Rafalska, Eugenia Rodríguez Palop
on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Social dialogue is a fundamental part of the European social model. It is a key driver for economic and social resilience, competitiveness, fairness and sustainable growth, and is crucial for finding balanced responses to new and existing needs and challenges relating to the labour market and working conditions. Over the past 30 years, the share of workers covered by collective agreements has declined significantly, with the estimated EU average falling from about 66 % in 2000 to about 56 % in 2018.
Given this:
- 1.How will the Council encourage Member States to ensure an enabling environment for bipartite and tripartite social dialogue and due respect for the social partners’ autonomy? How will the Council ensure that the proposed recommendation complements Article 4 of the Directive (EU) 2022/2041, in particular in terms of measures to increase national collective bargaining coverage?
- 2.How will the Council ensure that Member States remove institutional or legal barriers to social dialogue and strengthen the organisational capacity of the social partners and collective bargaining at all levels, including through the allocation of adequate resources?
- 3.How will the Council support Member States in addressing anti-trade union practices, the lack of representation, the more fragmented workforce and the increase in non-standard forms of work that may lead to precariousness, in order to ensure that workers and trade union representatives can exercise their fundamental rights to organise and collectively bargain without any interference, adverse treatment or consequences negatively impacting their employment?
- 4.How will the Council ensure that Member States promote timely access to information for social partners and timely consultation with them so that they can be meaningfully involved in designing and implementing employment and social policies?
- 5.How will the Council encourage Member States to ratify and implement all ILO core Conventions, in particular the recently designated core Conventions 155 and 187, and Convention 190?
Submitted: 18.4.2023
Lapses: 19.7.2023