Newsitem
2021-06-23
Social partners and labour law-making
Daiva Petrylaitė, Vilnius University
The modern EU concept of labour law is based on social dialogue. In its turn, European social dialogue refers to discussions, consultations, negotiations and joint actions involving organisations representing the two sides of industry. Social partnership as a socio-political instrument was already used, although explicitly, at the very beginning of European unification.
The ‘golden age’ for social partners was the 1990s, when the influence of the social partners in EC law-making process was significant. It was the period in which social partners used the newly gained social policy procedures to negotiate agreements that were implemented by a decision of the Council, being directives. The directives, inter alia, included the Parental Leave Directive adopted in1996, the Part-Time Work Directive adopted in 1997, and the Fixed-Term Employment Contract Directive adopted in 1999. Therefore, we can argue that this period can be referred to as a period of maximum influences of the social partners on law-making processes and social policy development and called as important and intense “social” decade in the European Union.
Need to mention, that, in 2010 the European Commission presented EUROPE 2020 A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth[2] The Commission recognises, inter alia the right of social partners to be consulted in the law-making process and expresses the promise to implement (where appropriate) the agreements concluded between the social partners at the level of the Union and its Member States and express the support for increased capacity of social partners to promote social dialogue shall be encouraged.
Speaking about national situation and recognition of the social partners role in the social law-making, the very new constitutional doctrine was presented by the Lithuanian Constitutional Court (7th June ruling). The Court ruled whether the Government had violated the Constitution when it had unilaterally increased the rate of daily subsistence allowance for employees without consulting the social partners. The Court noted that the Constitution enshrines the imperative of social cohesion; from the Constitution arises the duty of the state to ensure the cooperation of the subjects of labour relations on the basis of social partnership and to protect the rights of the employees. Taking into account the constitutional imperative of social cohesion and the constitutional duty of the state to ensure cooperation of labour relations subjects on the basis of social partnership, the requirements of publicity and transparency of law-making procedures presuppose the duty of the state involve the social partners – trade unions and employers’ organizations – in the law-making process, including by consulting them on draft legislation (including through the establishment of bodies for this purpose). The Court noted that the compliance with such requirements presupposes public confidence in the state and the law and is a condition of government responsibility to society.
Thus, the Lithuanian Constitutional Court not only recognized the importance of social partnership in labour relations, but at the same time obliged the state and its institutions to consult with social partners and tripartite councils when adopting the labour and social legislation.
[1] EUROPE 2020 A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive [2010] COM(2010)2020 final
[2] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Establishing a European Pillar of Social Rights [2017] COM(2017)0250 final