Adapting national social partners’ capacities to pursue inclusive and responsive social dialogue following crisis situations in EU

ended

As digitalization and pandemic have permanently reshaped the labour markets. New forms of work are no longer a choice or a lifestyle, they are our society’s new reality, and they have brought along a variety of issues that need to be resolved if the field of labour is to be inclusive, productive as well as protective for all parties involved. In parallel, there are Directives to be taken into consideration: on platform work, on work-life balance and the right to disconnect, on pay transparency, proposal for a directive on adequate minimum wages and Autonomous framework agreement on digitalisation. ARESME looks into these issues from a perspective of a social dialogue, aiming to propose recommends for implication at national level. The main goal is therefore to enhance social partner’s negotiation position and responsiveness in cross-industry and sectoral social dialogue following crisis situations in EU based on the pandemic experience. Objectives of ARESME are to consider a) various new forms of work (platform work, telework, part-time work schemes), b) new occupational health and safety risks c) adequate minimum wages and gender income equality and d) to build and strengthen capacities of project partners and to promote a modernised social dialogue. Craft and entrepreneurial (cross-industry) sector is targeted in the span of self-employed, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Expected overall outcomes are: a) intensified and modernised social dialogue at cross-industry and sectoral level, b) strengthened capacities of national social partners, and c) recommendations for social dialogue at national level regarding new forms of work, health and safety at work, minimum wages and gender income equality. ARESME will be a 2 years implementation by five employers’ organisations, ZDOPS Slovenia, GSEVEE Greece, MCSMEs Malta, PIMEC Catalonia Spain and CCP Portugal, trade union SOPS from Slovenia and SMEunited, the EU social partner.