ERGO Network responds to the European Commission call for evidence on strengthening social dialogue
As announced in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the European Commission will present in 2022 an initiative to support social dialogue at EU and national level. As part of this initiative, the Commission will put forward a proposal for a Council Recommendation to promote and strengthen the conditions for social dialogue, including collective bargaining, at national level. In the context, the European Commission invited stakeholders to submit their views in the framework of a call for evidence, to which we responded.
Overall, we welcome the European Commission’s commitment to improving social dialogue and particularly to strengthening the role, coverage, and leverage of trade unions and collective bargaining. However, it is regrettable and inaccurate that the background document underpinning the call for action uses the word “companies” in an interchangeable way with “employers”, thus completely overlooking labour relations in the public and the third sector, where adequate social dialogue to protect workers’ rights is just as needed. The current choice of language displays an undue bias towards the private sector, which will hopefully not be reprised in the initiative itself.
Unfortunately, there is a striking lack of data regarding the degree of representation of Roma workers in trade union structures. Neither the main trade union umbrella organisations that ERGO Network reached out to (ETUC, EPSU, CESI, UNI Europa), nor Roma and (pro-)Roma civil society organisations are aware of such statistics. However, the consensus was that there seemed to be low coverage of trade union membership among Roma workers. The lack of Roma workers in trade union structures leads to less visibility of the specific issues Roma workers have, such as the ethnic pay gap or discrimination in the workplace.
This situation is even more serious when we consider that evidence from all countries shows that the Roma are over-represented in exploitative forms of employment (including the informal economy), because of a lack of knowledge of their rights. The Roma overwhelmingly work in jobs that are low paid, on zero-hours contracts, often in factory-based environments or others that require hard physical work.
The consequences for large numbers of the Roma community are inconsistent working hours and, therefore, unpredictable income. Insecure contracts lead to vulnerability and to abuse, as Roma in these working environments are often asked to work extra unpaid hours and are too scared to make complaints, even in cases of sexual harassment or unfair / unlawful dismissal. The Roma might be a desirable workforce at busy times, but in lulls they are also the first to be dropped off. The Roma working in the “grey” economy continue to be vulnerable – even invisible – workers, finding it very difficult to assert their employment rights.
The upcoming European initiative should:
- Recommend sound public investment in specific provisions to protect the most vulnerable workers, such as seasonal, migrant, and minority workers, and those in the informal economy who are not covered by standard employment contracts.
- Explicitly support the collection of disaggregated data in trade union membership, in order to have a clearer picture of how the different concerns of vulnerable workers, including but not limited to Roma workers, are taken up in collective bargaining.
- Encourage and support, including financially, anti-bias and antidiscrimination trainings for social partners, to build better awareness of the specific issues faced by minority workers and other vulnerable groups on the labour market, so that these issues can become a part of social dialogue.
- Support information campaigns for workers about their employment rights, including in the Romani language, and put in place specific outreach measures for Roma workers.
- Ensure that Labour Inspectorates and the European Labour Authority protect and promote a work environment where recourse and appeal are available to all without prejudice or discrimination.
- See ERGO Network’s full input here!
For more information about ERGO Network’s work on employment, as well as on the European Pillar of Social Rights, please contact Amana Ferro, Senior Policy Adviser in the ERGO Network Brussels team.