UEAPME confident of role in social dialogue

Date: 03/09/1998

By Simon Coss

EUROPE's main small business lobby is confident that it will be accepted as a formal player in the EU's 'social dialogue' structure involving trade unions and employers before the end of the year.

The European Union of Craft and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, which is known by its French acronym UEAPME, believes the other partners in the social dialogue negotiations are finally preparing to accept its participation.

"We are confident that we should have agreed on mutual recognition by the end of the year," UEAPME spokesman Garry Parker told European Voice.

The social dialogue was formally incorporated into EU law when the Maastricht Treaty's social chapter entered into force.

Under the system, the Union's 'social partners' - the EU employers' federation UNICE, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the CEEP, representing public sector employers - have the option of negotiating draft proposals for Union-wide labour laws.

UEAPME has long argued that it too should be considered a social partner, insisting that it is the real voice of the small business sector. The group has a Europe-wide membership of more than 9 million companies which employ nearly 50 million people.

Until recently, its calls for a formal role in the social dialogue always ran into opposition from UNICE, which argued that it represented small businesses well enough itself in the European-level talks. However, there have been signs recently that UNICE is preparing to soften its former hardline stance.

Most analysts see a mixture of internal and external factors behind the federation's apparent change of heart.

The organisation recently appointed a new president and secretary-general, both of whom seem more open to addressing UEAPME's concerns than their predecessors.

In addition, at their Cardiff summit meeting in June, EU leaders stressed the importance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as key motors for growth and job-creation within the Union.

UNICE has confirmed that it is engaged in exploratory talks with UEAPME, although secretary-general Dirk Hudig stressed that discussions were still at a very early stage.

"It's early days, so there isn't all that much to say. SMEs are important for growth and innovation and we felt there was some interest in taking a wider look at this issue," he said.

The UNICE chief also predicts that incorporating UEAPME into the social dialogue could prove a fraught and complicated process.

"In some EU countries, SMEs are more or less part of a state system, whereas UNICE is only based on voluntary membership," he explained, pointing out that in Austria, for example, all small businesses are obliged to register with a state-backed agency.

However, Parker argues that such essentially technical issues should not be allowed to obscure the larger picture. "It is, of course, a different situation in each country. But as far as we are concerned, we look after 90% of SMEs in Europe," he said.

UEAPME: European Union of Craft and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.