THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL DIALOGUE THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE Kiev 5-6 December 2013

1. THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL DIALOGUE THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE Kiev 5-6 December 2013 Presentation by Cinzia Del Rio

2. What do we mean by s.d.? • Bipartite dialogue employers-trade unions • Collective bargaining: agreements on working conditions and terms of employment/regulation of industrial relations • Centralized: inter-sectoral multi-employer bargaining (Belgium) • Sectoral national bargaining (Italy, Germany) • Enterprise-level bargaining (UK, USA)

3. Public Sector • Collective bargaining coverage • Tripartite bodies: consultative role in many EU countries • European social dialogue: bipartite (ETUC-Business Europe, CEEP, UEAPME) • Cross-industry covering whole economy • Sectoral covering 40 specific sectors

4. THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE The Italian trade union pluralism: CGIL CISL UIL, political, cultural and ideological roots; links with political parties The Italian Constitution 1948: freedom of association, right to strike, social partners’ contribution pillar to functioning of society • The Workers’ Statute 1970: main achievements, recognition of the trade union activity, anti-discriminatory provisions, protection against unfair dismissals; art. 19 on representativeness (RSU election) • The economic situation in the 80s and 90s, role of trade unions and collective bargaining

5. Main agreements on industrial relations • The 1993 Agreement - tripartite • Signed by Government and social partners • Aims: containment of inflation and control of the public deficit in compliance with the criteria of the Monetary Union • 4 areas: income policy; new collective bargaining framework; employment policies, support for the production system

6. Income policy: • Shared common goals, commitment by each party, consistent behaviour of the social partners • Concertative method: planned meetings twice a year on macro-economic objectives, level of public spending, programmed rates of inflation; GDP, jobs rate, detailed measures needed to achieve objectives

7. New collective bargaining framework – private sector • Two levels of bargaining: • National sector agreements, applicable to all workers of a specific sector: reasons for national contracts • Enterprise agreements for specific issues (conditions of work, organisations, working time, delegated issues), productivity • Wage setting system: no automatism, no indexation increase; negotiation on planned inflation rate • Public sector • Creation of a special national agency, negotiation of a national agreement

8. The new collective bargaining system 2009 and 2011 • Bipartite agreements • Why a new system? Weakness of the system, impact of the crisis on industrial relations, tensions among T.U • Two levels of collective bargaining remain, more delegated issues to enterprise or territorial collective bargaining level • Agreed criteria on t.u. representativeness; election of enterprise t.u. units • Validity of the agreement, coverage, referendum among workers • Wage setting system: according to European inflation rate IPCA, link to productivity • RULE OF LAW is essential in any national system

9. What is happening in Europe? • Each country has its own model, not possible to export a codified model! International Institutions can help • The impact of the crisis on s.d. systems in EU • Austerity measures, fiscal consolidation, structural reforms (labour market, welfare, social security systems-pensions), role ECB, EC, IMF, OECD • Decentralization of collective bargaining from national to enterprise level: Greece, Portugal, Spain, Romania

10. new partners, as NGOs (Hungary) or weakening the decision making role (Romania) • wage cut (minimum wage Greece, Ireland and wage agreements Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Romania) • Wage setting procedures: decentralization of wage-setting arrangements (Greece, Portugal, Spain, Hungary), individual wage arrangement • The public sector: wages, redundancies and cut to public services

11. Labour market reforms in some European countries • Common issues under discussion: • increase in labour market divergence: young people, women, long-term unemployment, migrant workers; low-skilled • Growing atypical forms of contracts: flexible contracts (limited social security coverage), precarious jobs (no collective bargaining coverage), unvoluntary part-time, abuse in temporary work contracts, etc. • Labour market and pension reforms • Young people most hit (temporary jobs, NEETs)

12. Negotiated responses to the crisis are possible and are needed (national and enterprise-level arrangements, some examples in Italy and EU) • What we have learned: • Inequality fuel distributive conflict • Coordinated IR systems facilitate adjustment (tripartite s.d., multi-employer bargaining, procedural clauses can provide certainty) • Interest-based negotiations facilitate innovations (e.g. information sharing) • Public policy support integrative outcomes (short-time working schemes, training lay-off schemes)

13. The role of social partners • Need to have a legal framework to assure respect of labour rights, T.U. activity, mutual respect and responsability • Rule of law: guarantee against external factors (crisis) • Capacity to put pressure, negotiate and reach compromise, • Capacity to be policy-making actors, defend rights, but propose new policies and measures • T.U.: free, independent, have capacities to address economic and social problems • T.U. pluralism in Italy is an added value, mutual respect and willingness to reach agreement for the benefit of workers

14. Thank you Cinzia Del Rio UIL International Dept. c.delrio@uil.it