Download WHAT SHOULD BE THE FUTURE OF THE ETUC

Session 3: Unions, Freedom
and Democracy
WHAT SHOULD BE THE
FUTURE OF THE ETUC
Plamen Dimitrov,
President of CITUB
Summer school
Manchester 9-14 July 2012
MAIN THEMES FOR DISCUSSION
• Is the ETUC out of touch with the political
mood of European workers?
• Has ‘social partnership’ run out of steam?
• What should be the role and policies of the
ETUC?
CHANGING CONTEXT REQUIRES
ADEQUATE RESPONSES
ETUC is acting in changing context:
• crisis, austerity measures, massive downwards
pressures on wages and working conditions
• deregulatory measures - greater flexibility
• attacks on social rights, trade unions and achievements
from the past, including social dialogue and collective
bargaining
• new governance - increased tension between EU
institutions and social partners, power shift to the
disadvantage of unions
In this context there is a need to change/adapt the
trade union priorities, strategies and tools at national
and European level.
Is the ETUC out of touch with the
political mood of European workers?
• mounting political tensions
• growing distance between European policymakers and the labour
movement and European citizens
provoke
• conflictual responses, protests and strikes in EU level and in memberstates. The ETUC mobilised its members throughout Europe (‘enough
is enough’)
• people are expressing their anger as the prevailing settlements
prioritise business and capital needs over those of labour
• TU members want alternative to neo-liberalism (though differently
viewed)
- radicalisation and boom of extreme right and left movements, populist
nationalism,
- social movements are emerging to protest against injustice and
insecurity
- some indicators of growing anti-capitalist mood (radical proposals for
a change of policy regime).
Is the ETUC out of touch with the
political mood of European workers?
(continued)
Establishing cross boarder solidarity and
coordination of political initiatives relevant to the
political mood and attitudes of the
heterogeneous European wide trade union
movement is difficult task
The pending questions are:
• How ETUC could be in touch with the
political mood of the diverse European trade
union membership? and
• Is there a need for radical political solutions
and a new sense of political direction for the
international trade union movement?
Has ‘social partnership’ run out of
steam?
• What future of social partnership (rumors
of the death of social dialogue are greatly
exaggerated)
• Based in Treaty of Maastricht and Lisbon
Treaty
- aims to strengthen the social dimension
of European integration
- essential component of the European
social model
- part of democratic governance of Europe
Has ‘social partnership’ run out of
steam? (continued)
Why Social Dialogue matters in times of crisis?
• Significant factor in containing negative consequences of crisis
• In most of the EU member states - tripartite institutions, ad-hoc
bodies, informal meetings, collective bargaining
• European social dialogue is also developing at EU cross-sector and
sector level but no tangible results.
• Supporting and hindering factors (to be discussed)
The European social partnership should be developed and
strengthened (process and outcome)
Important are commitment and political will of the international
institutions that are entitled to take decisions.
The challenge: Rethink existing measures and tools (bodies);
preparing for the exit from crisis – new TU agenda for the social
partnership ?
What should be the role and policies of
the ETUC?
The European Trade Union Confederation is facing major challenges
and great expectations of the members
• ETUC response to EU policy-making
- alternative program of policies
- set of regulative instruments: hard law (Council Directives), soft law
instruments and sectoral agreements.
- actions respecting the international norms (ILO Conventions) and
- use of the classical instrument of conflict – and activism.
• Athens congress and Manifesto – 2011
- demanded a change of course
- for a “New Social and Green Deal
• Social compact for Europe – June 2012calls on the EU to focus on policies improving living and working
conditions, quality employment, fair wages, equal treatment, effective
social dialogue, trade union and other human rights, quality public
services, social protection, industrial policy favouring a just transition
towards a sustainable development model.
What should be the role and policies
of the ETUC? (continued)
Specific trade union priorities of ETUC should be:
• Reinforced bargaining policy coordination
• offensive for a European MW policy and against the
precarization of jobs
• Strengthening strike capacities in support of European
demands
• Improvement of the European framework for transnational
collective bargaining
• Support for development of the information and consultation
rights, including the EWC
• Improved linkage between EU and national levels (ETUC
and its sector and national affiliates)
• Coalition-building (alliances) with NGOs and social
movements
What should be the role and policies
of the ETUC? (continued)
Improvement of linkage between ETUC and its national
affiliates
ESD relies on national social partners for the mandate to
engage in European-level negotiations and, in the case
of autonomous agreements, in its follow up
implementation
• In this respect there is a need for:
• Better Integration of trade unions affiliated to ETUC and
support for their capacity building
• Improved Information and communication with national
affiliates
• New scope of the dialogue, focus on new sectors and
agreements on key issues, notably social security
systems, precarious employment, etc.
Improvement of linkage between
ETUC and its national affiliates continued
• Unions must be fully involved in the processes related to
the new economic governance and Europe 2020
implementation
• The national dialogue must include also the European
dimension – trade unions must be informed about positions
of the national governments in the EU institutions
• Support to affiliates for the transposition and effective
implementation at national level of the European social
partners agreements
• Debates on the European trade union strategy aiming at trade union renewal and mobilisation
Further steps
What can be improved on European level and what on
national level?
Discussion
What scenarios are there for European trade
unionism in the future?
• to adhere to the existing situation and to forgo
protest (loyalty) - that is, a strategy pursued
when no other solutions can be envisaged at the
time;
• to express dissatisfaction, to protest and to
demand improvements (voice);
• or to surrender (exit), when one knows which
alternatives to pursue.
(Report ‘European Social Dialogue: State of Play
and Prospects’, prepared by the European
Social Observatory in 2011)
Alternative policy mix as a
key response for recovery
Impact of crisis on social dialogue
• dismissals, increase of the retirement age,
restrictive wage policies
• trend of asymmetry between the economic
and social dimension of the policy
• limitation of the role and scope of social
dialogue
• growth of social tension and dissatisfaction
Uneven and conflicting tripartite
social dialogue
• Negotiations and exchanges between the social
partners and government – difficult, focused
more on the process of social dialogue, than on
its outcomes - government breaches already
approved agreements
• strikes and protests
• Two anti-crisis programmes agreed by the
initiative and under the pressure of social
partners, namely trade unions
Uneven and conflicting tripartite
social dialogue (continued)
• Renewal of social dialogue by the new government (mid
2009)
• Lack of consistent policy, only few examples of successful
dialogue
• Agreement on pension reform - 2010 (compromise and
strike)
Violated by the government in 2011 and an increase of the
retirement age was unilaterally imposed
The message sent to the trade unions is clear: You may
strike, if you like, but it won’t really matter.
Protest demonstration, trade unions withdrew the National
Council for Tripartite Cooperation
Uneven and conflicting tripartite
social dialogue (continued)
• the minimum wage, the salaries in the budget
sector, social benefits and the pensions
remained ‘frozen’ in 2010 and in 2011
• New public administration pay system
• partial success - the minimum wage was
increased in 2011 and in mid 2012
• the overall assessment of SD is negative, there
is a real danger of further undermining of the
social dialogue
• tripartite social dialogue in Bulgaria is “at stake”
Bipartite social dialogue – more
successful
• Joint anti-crisis packages agreed
• autonomous national agreements for teleworking
and homeworking + amendments to the Labour
code - providing both more flexibility and more
security in employment relations – 2010
• joint proposals on pension reform, development of
social dialogue and access to affordable credit 2012
• social dialogue at sector/ branch level continues
to develop and in some branches even better
provisions are agreed.
• for the first time ever extended 4 branch collective
agreements
Alternative policy mix for recovery
Global Jobs Pact Country Scan’ aims to help the
government and social partners to formulate
mutually accepted national recovery policies
• more balanced growth, driven by supply and the
demand
• More funds allocated for labour market policies
(VET, young, Roma)
• Improvement of social protection system
• Wage policy – to link wages and productivity,
enhanced role of collective bargaining
• application of labour standards
• Further development of social dialogue for policy
setting and monitoring
ITUC/KNSB/Podkrepa Conference
‘Jobs and Incomes – A better deal for
Bulgaria’ – March 2012
The participants propose a policy mix for transition
from recovery to strong, sustainable and
balanced growth in four main areas:
• macroeconomic policy;
• industrial policy;
• labour market, wages and collective bargaining;
• pensions, social protection and social dialogue.
Macroeconomic policy
• austerity must be shared equitably, with the twin
goals of equity and fairness and burden sharing.
• fiscal expansion and investment to boost the
economy and human potential
• long-term policies supporting education,
innovation and infrastructure
• Increased access to credit
• Reduction of the high interest rates
• Tax policy must be reconsidered - to move away
from a flat tax system and to introduce a tax-free
threshold for lower paid workers.
Industrial policy
•
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•
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to modernise infrastructure
support for skills and mobility of the labour force
to diversity the drivers of growth
to develop industries with higher added value and higher
productivity, requiring more skills
promotion of export – strategy, incentives
development of public private partnership
increasing investments in research and innovation
development of business friendly environment
Investments in transport, especially railways, tourism,
pharmaceuticals, food and the green economy,
electronics, ICT
Labour market and wage policy
Labour market and wage policy is a key
• Bulgaria needs a high skill, high productivity economy
• The main driver of economic growth is new and quality
employment
• improvement of qualification and vocational training,
increasing labour force adaptability to the changing labour
market
• Unemployment must be tackled by extending training and
apprenticeships, part-time working, workplace rotation, job
sharing and job centres
• The restrictive wage policy has not helped preserve jobs
• The compensation of Bulgarian employees, is low (at
36.5% of GDP compared to a 49.3% EU average)
• To establish a strong wage/productivity link
• In short term, higher wages will have the immediate benefit
of stimulating higher consumption and income-led growth.
Pensions, Social Protection and
Social Dialogue
• Bulgaria needs a strong social protection floor
• The level of poverty in Bulgaria is 40%
• increased social assistance, bringing all people
above the poverty line
• health care for all citizens
• attention to old age pensions
• renewal of the 2010 agreement on pension
reform
• financing of the pension system has to be
revitalised.
Pensions, Social Protection and
Social Dialogue (continued)
• need for a clear social dimension to
government policy
• enhanced and improved social dialogue
• all agreements must be respected by all
partners if they are to be effective
• Trust between government and social
partners should be re-established
• National Sustainable Development Council
to be established