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Social dialogue and its role in promoting inclusive labour markets is among the priorities of the Latvian Presidency. Thus the focus of the discussion was on how social dialogue can support the improvement of the socio-economic situation in EU Member States.
“Being aware of challenges that we have to face in the practical implementation of social dialogue both in Latvia and elsewhere in Europe and having evaluated the importance of these challenges, we have to think about initiatives and the ways to overcome them. One of these challenges is related to the capacity of social partners. The capacity of social partners includes the ability to be professional, strong and financially independent in representation of their interests. At the same time the ability of social partners to cooperate among themselves by reaching compromise on various socio-economic issues is also important,” emphasized the Minister for Welfare.
Successful social dialogue is a prerequisite for increasing employment opportunities, investing in the development of skills and reducing poverty.
However, this can only happen if social dialogue is inclusive and takes into account both the situation of groups such as youth and long-term unemployed persons, as well as the fact that the labour market is changing along with technological changes, population ageing and other factors.
Latvia stresses that capacity and flexibility of the social partners is an important success factor of a social dialogue, considering both potential changes in the labour market and socio-economic situation in general.
During discussion the representatives of the Member States and social partners revealed also their opinion regarding the role of social dialogue in wage setting.
At the meeting there was consensus that social dialogue plays an important role for balancing the interests and rights of employees and employers. However, it has to be sufficiently flexible and keep up with pace of time in order to represent the interests of both parties in a true and efficient manner.
The role of social partners in addressing socio-economic issues was emphasized within the framework of the European Semester and in each of the Member States and the EU in general. It can be achieved by ensuring a true and responsible EU level social dialogue aimed at establishing inclusive labour markets and high-quality jobs. New initiatives for strengthening the capacity of social partners are crucial, meanwhile maintaining the autonomy of social partners.
The meeting was addressed by Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, the Vice-President of the European Commission for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Ms Marianne Thyssen, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Mr Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation, Ms Marita Ulvskog, the Acting Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs at the European Parliament, and the high-level representatives from European social partners’ organisations.
Video from the Informal meeting of Ministers for Labour and Social Affairs:
