Social Partners in central government administrations agree guidelines on HRM and anticipation of change

(28 October 2013) At their meeting of 8 October, the EPSU-led trade union delegation and the employers, EUPAE, in the social dialogue committee for central government administrations (SDC CGA) agreed a set of political guidelines to improve human resources management with a view to better anticipate and manage change. Amid imposed cuts in jobs and wages and restructuring triggered by austerity measures, the guidelines calls for a new HRM strategy where social dialogue and trade union rights are put centre stage to maintain high quality standards of working life .

The political guidelines, whilst not binding, set out a number of actions for social partners at national level including:

- Defining a social dialogue framework with trade unions on any change relating to work organisation, employment and contractual relationships;

- Anticipating skill and job needs including the establishment an observatory;

- Supporting career development and lifelong training;

- Negotiating pay policy with trade unions based on transparency, equal treatment and equity; improve the quality of work/life balance;

- monitoring public policy standards with a view to making public administrations more people friendly, more impartial and to limit risks of conflicts of interest;

- Evaluating outsourcing in terms of its impact on cost, on quality of public services and working conditions.

The guidelines also provide a good starting point in view of the next round of discussions on information and consultation rights of employees as part of the new work programme of the SDC CGA 2014-2016 currently being drafted. Other items discussed at the meeting were a draft statement calling for a new EU strategy on occupational health and safety and the follow-up to a statement agreed on youth traineeships earlier this year. Both topics were referred to the next social dialogue meeting on 10 December.