Principles of Social Dialogue: Tripartism and Bipartism

1. ITCILO Course A1-04027Trade Union Training on Collective Bargaining for Union Leaders (Francophone & Anglophone Africa) 18 to 29 July 2011 Principles of Social Dialogue: Tripartism and Bipartism

2. Overview of the Presentation • Definitions • Key ILO instruments on social dialogue • Actors and levels • Institutional arrangements • Scope of social dialogue • Aims and purposes • Prerequisite for social dialogue • Social dialogue in action • Lessons from the great recession • Challenges facing social dialogue • Measuring social dialogue

3. Definitions • The term Social Dialogue and Tripartism are universal values that are embedded in the ILO’s structures, policies and programmes. • Tripartism refers to the principles of participation of workers’ and employers’ representatives alongside the representatives of governments on “equal footing” in decision-making. • Social Dialogue refers to all types of negotiation, consultation or exchange of information between and among representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations on issues of common interest related to economic and social policy.

4. Definition • Social dialogue may also include direct dealings between the workers and the employers, otherwise referred to as collective bargaining. • This “bipartism” maybe seen as a part of tripartism, with the government playing the role of provider of the legal framework, or the labour laws, within which industrial relations operate, and as conciliator or arbiter in the event that insoluble disputes may arise between the parties.

5. Key ILO Instruments on Social Dialogue Many key ILO instruments specifically promoting social dialogue are: • C11 Right of Association (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 • C84 Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 • C87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 • C98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 • C135 Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 • C141 Rural Workers’ Organization Convention, 1975 • C144 and R152 Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention and Recommendation,1976 • C151 Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 • C154 Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 • Recommendation 133 (1960) • Resolution concerning social dialogue and tripartism, 2002 • Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation, 2008 • The Global Jobs Pact, 2009

6. Actors and Levels Actors • Bipartite: workers and employers and their respective organisations. • Tripartite: workers, employers and governments • Tripartite plus: tripartite partners choose to open the dialogue to other groups, in order to gain a wider perspective on specific issues beyond the agenda of the world of work e.g. social assistance, environmental protection, etc.)

7. Actors and Levels • Country level: - Enterprise - Industry - Sectorial and Inter-sectorial - Chiefdom/District/County/Provincial - National

8. Actors and Levels • Supra national levels: - Regional groupings (SADC, EAC,ECOWAS, etc.) - Continental groupings (AU, EU, Arab League, etc.) - Between MNEs and GUFs • In the above levels, special joint Committees can be established to: - Play a policy advisory role; - Set, guide, monitor and control the labour inspection policy formulation and implementation process; - Complement the functions of the labour inspectorate; - Help prevent occupational and ever increasing social, economic and environmental risks.

9. Institutional Arrangements • Varies from place to place depending on national context and local traditions of industrial relations: - Economic and Social Council versus Tripartite Advisory Labour Council; - Centralised versus Decentralised Social Dialogue and Bipartite/Collective Bargaining.

10. Scope of Social Dialogue • Tripartite consultations at continental, regional and national levels: trend towards a wide agenda of economic, social and environmental issues. • Bipartite negotiations: - Regulation of terms of employment and conditions of work - Regulation of the relations between workers and employers and their organisations

11. Aims and Purposes of Social Dialogue • The goal of social dialogue is to promote consensus building and democratic involvement among the main stakeholders in the world of work. • It promotes greater integration of objectives, means, and circulation and processing of information. • Successful social dialogue has the potential to: - Create ownership among the parties over economic, social and environmental issues. - Reduce conflicts, advance industrial peace, boost productivity, ensure better labour protection, and, in consequence, minimize the need for labour inspection.

12. Aims and Purposes of Social Dialogue • Social dialogue provides parties an opportunity to contribute to the process of providing decent working conditions and real benefits to society. • Social dialogue produces more positive and generally acceptable results: - Wider extent of the consultation; - Increased possibility of the acceptance of outcomes by a wider spectrum of societal representatives; - Minimizes the possibilities for conflict. • The process of social dialogue is seen as an alternative to the resolution of disputes through conflict or legal procedures - an importance means to achieve social justice.

13. Prerequisite for Effective Social Dialogue • Political democracy and a functioning market economy that is based on fairness. • Respect for fundamental democratic principles including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. • A sound industrial relations environment (rule of law, effective law enforcement institutions, dispute resolution mechanisms, trust and political will …) • Respect for the role of the social partners: autonomous, independent and strong workers’ and employers’ organisations with legitimacy to speak and act with authority on behalf of their constituents.

14. Prerequisite for Effective Social Dialogue • Acknowledgement by the state of the legitimacy of workers’ and employers’ organisations and their freedom to defend the interest of their members. • Also, acknowledgement by the state that workers’ and employers’ organisations have something constructive to offer in the economic and social debate. • Well-established legislative and policy frameworks and well-resourced mechanisms conducive to, and supportive of social dialogue.

15. Prerequisite for Effective Social Dialogue • An environment anchored on a culture of dialogue for the prevention or peaceful resolution of disputes and reconciliation of interests. • Fair distribution of the burden and sacrifices needed for development among the parties. • Mutual confidence between the parties and their respect for the results of the consultation process. • Social partners’ financial independence and technical knowledge and capacity to participate competently in the tripartite dialogue.

16. Social Dialogue in Action • A mechanism for: - Adaptation to change - Smooth management of crisis • An instrument of good governance for: - Labour market - The economy and polity as a whole • Helped Japan and Western European countries to reconstruct their economies after WW II • Helped industrialised countries to overcome the post oil-shock recession (early 1970s).

17. Social Dialogue in Action • Helped former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe to: - Secure a smooth transition to market economy and democracy (1990s); and - Gain access to the European (2000s). • Helped developing and emerging countries in Africa, Asia, Arab States and Latin America to build consensus on national development strategies (1990s and 2000s). • Helped many countries across the globe to mitigate the impact of the great recession, re-launch their economies, job recovery and sustainability.

18. Lessons from the Great Recession • Increasing recourse to social dialogue in times of economic crisis. • Countries with long-standing experience of tripartite consultations, and well-established social dialogue institutions reacted quickly and more effectively to the global economic down-turn. • Social partners played a critical role at both tripartite and bipartite levels in designing and implementing stimulus packages.

19. Challenges • Workers and employers still face legal and practical obstacles to organise and bargain collectively. • Institutions for social dialogue are still weak, under-resourced, ill-equipped and not integrated into policy making. • Labour administrations lack the capacity to support social dialogue in its bipartite and tripartite forms. • Lack of political will on the part of governments to reach out to social partners.

20. Measuring Progress • ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008) recommends Members consider statistical measurements. • Measurement is complex: - Data is often limited or not comparable - Qualitative measurement is particularly complex • Measuring social dialogue helps assess: - The quality of industrial relations and its contribution to labour market governance - Compliance with labour legislation

21. Measuring Progress Basic measurement principles: • To help constituents to assess progress • To develop and offer comparable information for analysis and policy development. • To promote good practices • NOT to serve as a means of supervision.

22. Measuring Progress What to measure? • The legal and institutional framework • Workers’ and employers’ organisations • Collective bargaining coverage • Industrial action

23. Thank you! 