Tarnished image of jewel in Maastricht crown

Date: 21/05/1998

AS EUROPE'S employers and trade unions prepare for next month's mini summit to discuss the future of the social dialogue - once heralded as the jewel in the crown of the Maastricht Treaty's social chapter but now tarnished by its failure to secure agreements on a series of key issues - the debate over the way forward is intensifying.

Some argue that recent setbacks have dented confidence in the system to such an extent that the whole future of the dialogue is now in jeopardy. They claim the refusal of European employers' federation UNICE to enter into negotiations on giving workers in national companies the same rights to be consulted as their counterparts in multinational firms demonstrates that company bosses are intent on using the process to block or delay unwanted legislation rather than playing a positive role in framing it.

Others flatly reject this, pointing to past successes and insisting that disagreements are inevitable from time to time. UNICE maintains that its decision not to negotiate on the worker consultation does not reflect any lack of faith in the system, stressing that it is merely exercising its right to decide whether to accept each invitation to talks on a case-by-case basis.

Meanwhile, other organisations, ranging from the small and medium enterprise lobby group UEAPME to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, argue that the current system is flawed and in need of reform. But while most acknowledge that at least some of these criticisms are justified, changing the way the system operates will be far from easy - not least because any proposals for fundamental reform would require amendments to the EU treaties and that cannot happen without another intergovernmental conference. That should not, however, be used as an excuse to duck the need to consider what can be done in the meantime to answer the concerns which have been raised.

Public confidence in the benefits of EU-level action was severely undermined by car giant Renault's handling of its decision to close a profitable factory at Vilvoorde in Belgium last year, and recent setbacks have done nothing to restore their faith.

But few would argue with the principle that it is better for the social partners to negotiate voluntary agreements on key issues rather than having solutions imposed on them from above. A war of words between them at next month's summit over who is to blame for recent failures would do nothing to boost confidence. It is vital that they listen to each other's points of view, avoid making dire predictions about the future if one or other side does not back down, and demonstrate their determination to work together to make the system work better in future.