17 - The European social dialogue: from dynamism to benign neglect 1993–2008

Summary

The dominant feature of European collective industrial relations is the social dialogue:

The social dialogue is rooted in the history of the European continent, and this distinguishes the Union from most other regions of the world.

The European social dialogue is a process which stipulates a relationship between collective bargaining and law specific to the EU. Social dialogue does not simply equate with collective bargaining. Collective bargaining takes many forms in different Member States. Besides bilateral bargaining, the social dialogue may adopt the form of tripartite structures, assume roles for public authorities and/or establish mechanisms for representation of the unorganised. Similarly, social dialogue at EU level implies a flexible relationship between social dialogue at all levels and Community and national institutions. The relationship is contingent upon national traditions of social dialogue within Member States. European social dialogue must be extremely flexible in its application within the context of Community social policy.

Collective bargaining and social dialogue within Member States is regarded as reflecting a balance of power between labour and capital, exercised traditionally through industrial conflict. The Treaty does not address even the possibility of industrial conflict at EU level. Indeed, Article 137(5) EC seems explicitly to aim to exclude regulatory competences on the right to strike. The logic to this auto-exclusion is, perhaps, that the current state of EU-level social dialogue is qualitatively different in that the normal means of pressure – strikes – are not (yet) operational at Community level.