From 6 to 9 February 2020 took place a seminar about “Cooperation of workers' organisations and other civil society organisations to raise the effectiveness of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR)”, organized by IFES (Institutul de Formare Economică şi Socială) and CNS "Cartel Alfa" / F.N.CORESI (Confederaţia Naţională Sindicală "Cartel Alfa" / Fundaţia Naţională CORESI) in cooperation with EZA and with the support of the European Union.
53 representatives of workers’ organisations from Austria, Belgium, France, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Hungary, Spain and Romania participated in the seminar.
One of the most important aspects of the seminar was the fact that representatives from a large scale of institutions and organisations gathered at the same table, had the chance to exchange opinions and experiences, enriching in this manner the picture of the present society, perceived from different perspectives.
During the seminar the participants were able to develop knowledge on the ways in which social security systems were organised in other EU member states and on the historical development of the social dimension of Europe.
Moreover, the event took place in a crucial moment because the Romanian government was radically change. In that way, the event allowed the national trade union confederation to strengthen its knowledge to get involved in social dialogue and if not in dialogue, in social action.
During the sessions of the seminar have been discussed the following main themes:
- Trade unions and the challenges in the social field at European level
- European Pilar of Social Rights from the stage of statements in the phase of implementation
- Tools by which the status and evolution of social files in the member countries are monitorized
- The mean of the European Pilar of Social Rights. The synergy with other European key documents
- The future of the EPSR from the European Parliament perspective
- Which focal points/aspects of the EPSR have been addressed by your organization? How trade union(s)/political organisation(s)/civil society organisation(s) are involved?
- Strengthen of the social rights. Cooperation between trade unions, civil society organisations authorities and the political organisations
- Agreements on further cooperation between the trade unions, civil society organisations, authorities and the political organisations
One of the most appreciated presentations was made by Mr. Dragos PASLARU, Member of the European Parliament, RO “The future of the EPSR from the European Parliament perspective”. In a very systematic manner, he particularly brought to our attention the strong points of European social policies and gave us hope for the future.
We have also to remark the presentation “Strengthen of the social rights. Cooperation between trade unions, civil society organisations authorities and the political organisations”
At the end of each discussion about the different topics, conclusions have been drawn relevant to the future work of trade unions organizations.
The participants identified several future actions:
- Trade unions and NGOs’ action plan to build support by the national government to enforce the 20 principles and rights
- Amendment of social dialogue law in order to allow and restore genuine social dialogue collective bargaining at all levels, and to ensure trade union rights to all non-standard workers, in order to allow them to enjoy the same benefits as standard workers; Exchange of experience with foreign trade union organisations, NGOs and universities
- Organization of a joint campaign to support the European minimum wage
- Joint action to fix the social problems facing Romanian working people and their unions including rising inequalities, low wages, precarious jobs and poor working conditions that undermine their ability to benefit from EU employment rights
- Promoting the increase of funds for vocational training.