The Social Dialogue: Meeting of the Standing Committee on Employment, Brussels, March 2000

The Standing Committee on Employment met in Brussels on the 13^th March 2000 for the third time since its reform in March 1999. The Committee is made up of representatives from the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the 'social partners', with the aim of allowing the last named a formal means of contributing to the EU's coordinated employment strategy, taking into account the economic and social objectives of the Community. The Committee was first established in 1970 and was re-organised in 1999.

The 'social partners' comprise Europe-level organisations representing the two sides of industry. In practice, this means that within the Standing Committee on Employment, there are twenty social partner representatives taking place in a meeting, ten from each side of industry co-ordinated equally by:

• European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
• Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE)

The representatives must come from:

• general cross-industry organisations
• cross-industry organisations representing certain categories of workers or undertakings
• sectoral organisations representing agriculture and trade

In addition to representatives from the ETUC and UNICE there are also currently representatives from: Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation (CEEP) (no website), European Association of Craft and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (UEAPME) (no website but this link provides information), Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the EEC (COPA) and Confédération Européene des Cadres (CEC).

The work of the Standing Committee on Employment is part of the wider process of 'social dialogue', which is based on the premise that an active dialogue between management and labour at all levels (from the shop-floor up to Europe-level representative organisations) leading to shared goals and common objectives leads to a more effective labour market.

Background

The Standing Committee on Employment was created in 1970 by Council Decision 70/532/EEC (not available on EUR-LEX):

The task of the Committee shall be to ensure, in compliance with the Treaties and with due regard for the powers of the institutions and organs of the Communities, that there shall be continuous dialogue, joint action and consultation between the Council, the Commission and the two sides of industry in order to facilitate co-ordination by the Member States of their employment policies in harmony with the objectives of the Community.
Official Journal L273, 17.12.70, p25, English special edition Series I-70(III), p863. CELEX Number: 31970D0532

This Decision was amended by Council Decision 75/62/EEC (not available on EUR-LEX, CELEX Number 31975D0062), which altered the detailed composition of the Committee to take account of changes in the structure of the employers' and workers' organisations.

Following considerable criticism of the effectiveness of the Standing Committee on Employment over the years, and in the context of the desire to adapt and promote the social dialogue at Community level, the Commission introduced in May 1998 a proposal [pdf] to amend the structure and functions of the Committee. In March 1999 the Council adopted a Decision on the reform of the Standing Committee on Employment Policy.

The task of the Committee shall be to ensure, in compliance with the Treaty and with due regard for the powers of the institutions and bodies of the Communities, that there is continuous dialogue, concertation and consultation between the Council, the Commission and the social partners in order to enable the social partners to contribute to the co-ordinated employment strategy and to facilitate co-ordination by the Member States of their policies in this field, taking into account the economic and social objectives of the Community as reflected in both the Employment Guidelines and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines.
Official Journal L072, 18.03.99 p33-35

A summary of the reasons why the Committee was reformed is available . The reformed Committee has met three times and summaries of the meetings can be found in the following Press Releases from the Council:

1st Meeting, 26.4.99
2nd Meeting, 11.11.99
3rd Meeting, 13.3.00

At the meeting on 13 March 2000 the Committee examined the issues to be discussed at the Special European Council, Lisbon, 23-24.3.00 on 'Employment, economic reforms and social cohesion - towards a Europe based on innovation and knowledge'.

The Social Dialogue

The Social Protocol, introduced in the Maastricht Treaty, provided an approach to the development of social policy known as the Social Dialogue. This aimed at giving the social partners an enhanced role in policy-making at the EU level. The Protocol has now been incorporated into the Social Chapter of the main EC Treaty (see Chapter 1 of the new Title XI, new Articles 136 to 145) following implementation of the Treaty of Amsterdam and applies to all current fifteen Member States. Information on the overall legal framework of social policy at EU level following the implementation of the Treaty of Amsterdam is provided in the European Parliament's Fact Sheets and the European Commission's SCADPLUS.

The Social Dialogue provides the option for social policy-making through negotiation among the social partners as an alternative to the traditional legislative route. So far, the three key developments have been the agreements on parental leave, 1996, part-time work in 1997 and fixed-term work in 1999. Under this method management and labour (as represented by the Europe-level organisations UNICE, CEEP and ETUC) can conclude an agreement, which is then given legal status by a Council Decision.

In 1996 the Commission issued a Communication advocating reform to the Social Dialogue process (COM (1996)448 final, not available on the web), while the Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997, included a special provision for promoting the Social Dialogue in the context of strengthening social policy. Subsequently, the Commission adopted in 1998 a Communication [pdf] adapting and promoting the social dialogue at Community level, which advocates four main strands of action to strengthen the process:

• information
• consultation
• employment
• negotiation

Further information within European Sources Online:

European Sources Online: European Voice
	9.11.95:	Setback for social dialogue in wake of parental leave deal
	30.11.95:	SMEs demand a voice in the social dialogue
	29.2.96:	Bid to extend social dialogue
	7.3.96:	MEPs reiterate their call for role in social dialogue
	4.7.96:	Partnership approach to social policy
	1.5.97:	Clamour for reform of social dialogue intensifies
	19.3.98:	Social dialogue in jeopardy
	4.6.98:	Crisis talks fail to reconcile social partners
	18.6.98:	Small business lobby UEAPME's bid to mount a legal challenge to the EU's social dialogue system
	3.9.98:	UEAPME confident of role in social dialogue
	14.5.98:	Treaty text blocks major reform of social dialogue
	21.5.98:	Europe's long road to the current impasse: Key dates in the history of the social dialogue
	21.5.98:	Social Dialogue stops communicating
	18.6.98:	Fresh concern over social dialogue
	17.12.98:	Ill-tempered dialogue splits social partners
	22.2.99:	Call for strong body to promote jobs plan
Further information can be seen in these external links: (long-term access cannot be guaranteed)
European Commission: DG Employment and Social Affairs: Social dialogue
	Portuguese Presidency's first conference focuses on the social partners' role in developing the European social model, January 2000
	Council adopts Decision reforming the Standing Committee on Employment, March 1999
	European Social Dialogue Newsletter (scroll down for text of individual issues) [pdf]
	Communication: Adapting and promoting the social dialogue at Community level (COM (1998)322 final) [pdf]
	Green Paper: Partnership for a new Organisation of Work (COM(97)128 final)
European Parliament: Fact Sheets: Social dialogue
European Commission:
	Padraig Flynn: The European Social Model and Social Dialogue, 9.11.98 European Commission: Speech: SPEECH/98/238
	Commission Communication on adapting and promoting Social Dialogue European Commission: Press Release: IP/98/452
	Further Press Release-type material can be accessed on RAPID by typing in 'social dialogue' or 'Standing Committee on Employment' (quotation marks are required) in the title and/or text fields and clicking on the 'no date' box.
398D0500 98/500/EC: Commission Decision of 20 May 1998 on the establishment of Sectoral Dialogue Committees promoting the Dialogue between the social partners at European level (notified under document number C(1998) 2334) (Text with EEA relevance) Official Journal L 225 , 12.08.98 p27-28
399D0207 1999/207/EC: Council Decision of 9 March 1999 on the reform of the Standing Committee on Employment and repealing Decision 70/532/EEC Official Journal L72 , 18.03.99 p33-35
UNICE: Social dialogue documents and papers (select 'social dialogue' from subject list):
	Commission Communication on adapting and promoting Social Dialogue: UNICE Position Paper, 1998 [pdf]
International Labour Organisation:
	Social Dialogue
Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU):
	Social Dialogue
Uni Europa Commerce:
	The European Social Dialogue in Commerce

Ian Thomson
Executive Editor, European Sources Online
Compiled: 18 March 2000

The Standing Committee on Employment met in Brussels on the 13 March 2000 for the third time since its reform in March 1999. The Committee is made up of representatives from the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the 'social partners', with the aim of allowing the last named a formal means of contributing to the EU's coordinated employment strategy.