EPSU confirmed as most representative trade union organization for local and regional governments sectoral social dialogue

(EPSU Press release - 2 December 2014)

At European level, the European Commission established a Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for local and regional governments in 2004. According to the results of the study EPSU and CEMR are the most important EU-wide representatives of the sector’s employers and employees. The data collected for this study show that both European social partners currently involved in sectoral social dialogue affiliate the majority of national organisations which have a role in industrial relations in the local and regional government sector in EU 27 Members States considered in this study. EPSU organise some 71% of all trade union members covered by this study.

The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) on the employee side participates in the sector’s European social dialogue and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CCRE-CEMR) on the employer side. To explore the representativity of both organisations in the local and regional government sector at European level Eurofound launched a study two years ago to establish the sector-related trade unions and employers in this sector.

Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary comments “this study also confirms the joint work of this committee and will give renewed impetus to launch new social dialogue agreements. We are, however, disappointed that even though Social Dialogue delivers that the European Commission still tries to reduce support to the European social dialogue in a unilateral way, which seems to contradict that Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Thyssen reiterated that this Commission is committed to re-launching and strengthening the dialogue with their social partner.”

The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee established exactly ten year ago can rely on a variety of joint projects, achievements and concrete outcomes and have underlined their joint commitment through the framework for action for local and regional government to contribute to a social and sustainable local and regional Europe that supports the public sector as an employer. The overarching objective is to better prepare Local and Regional governments as employers’ and their employees for future scenarios of its workplace.

And recently the Committee adopted Joint Guidelines on migration and strengthening anti-discrimination in Local and Regional Governments, in which both partners acknowledge that migration offers a major benefit to local and regional governments and cities at the workplace.

The study is divided into three parts: a summary of the sector’s background, with a special focus on industrial relations; an analysis of the social partner organisations in all the EU Member States, including their membership, role in collective bargaining, social dialogue and public policy, and national and European affiliations; and an analysis of relevant European organisations, particularly their membership composition and capacity to negotiate. The aim of EUROFOUND studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national social partner organisations in the field of industrial relations in selected sectors and their relationships with EU-level associations of labour and business. The impetus for these studies comes from the European Commission’s desire to recognise the representative social partner organisations to be consulted under the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

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