(Brussels, 22 June 2012) Last week Friday, 22 June 2012, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels hosted the final conference of the PESSIS (promoting employers’ social service organisations in social dialogue) project. The project, co-financed by DG EMPL, aims at a better understanding of how social dialogue is organised and structured (or not) in the social sector in Europe, based on a mapping exercise covering 11 EU Member States (A, B, D, E, F, FIN, GB, GR, IRL, NL and SLO). It focuses on three sub-sectors with increasing demand and employment growth, long-term care/elderly care, care of handicapped persons and child-care. The project should help emphasising the social and economic role of the social services sector and its major contribution to employment and growth in Europe. A mid-term objective is to contribute to the development and promotion of social dialogue in the social service sector within Member States and at EU-level including not-for-profit employers as key actors.

PESSIS is supported and run by 8 EU-level networks of NGO providing services - and insofar also having the role of employers in the field of personal social services – and some of their national member organisations. Since December 2011 they have formalised their structure under the roof of Social Services Europe that could become in the next years the platform organising (not-for profit) employers in the field of social services. All EU-networks are themselves members of the Social Platform. EPSU is the project partner representing the workers in and the trade unions active in the sector of personal social services.

Have a look at the speaking notes of Mathias Maucher, EPSU, at the Final Conference of the PESSIS Project (in EN)

Speaking notes Mathias Maucher (EPSU) - in EN

Read more about the PESSIS project

 Short project description (1 pager)

 Longer project description (3 pages)

PESSIS - Longer Project Description (3 pages)

 Country reports (in EN and in official language of country)

 European Summary Report (in EN ; will become available in early July 2012)

 Look into the Newsflash 1 (February 2012) and the Newsflash 2 (May 2012)

Read more about the policy work of Social Services Europe

 Paper on the EC proposal to revise the directives on public procurement (10 May 2012)

 Briefing Paper on Employment Growth (Potential) in Social Services Sector (27 April 2012)