From 6 to 8 July 2025 took place in Sofia / Bulgaria a seminar about “Beyond the crises: strong social dialogue for more effective workers protection”, organised by Confederation of Labour PODKREPA in cooperation with EZA and funded by the European Union. 47 representatives of workers’ organisations from Bulgaria, Germany. Belgium, Cyprus, France, Serbia, Romania and Albania participated in the seminar.
The objectives of the seminar were:
To map the challenges, trade union movement is facing at a time of crisis and deep uncertainty, especially in the field of maintaining effective social dialogue.
Exchange on specific initiatives, targeted to the increase of the collective agreements’ coverage as the best route to quality jobs and to transformation not just of workplaces, but to the entire society.
To elaborate trade union renewal activities with concrete tools to support organizing, energizing the spirit of solidarity in a way to resist any attack on working people and their rights.
The two-days’ work program was structured as follows:
- Opening session with welcome addresses and political messages;
- Keynote speeches:
Better work for better societies – trade union strategies to secure workers’ rights in time of geopolitical turmoil and multiple crises.
The EU Minimum Wages Directive and the European Sectoral Social Dialogue.
- Setting the scene presentation from Bulgarian trade union leaders: Social dialogue and collective bargaining against jobs insecurity, inequality, and low pay.
- Expert presentation: Solidarity and collective actions are the most productive avenues to voice and defend interests of working people.
- Two panels with national interventions: Social dialogue in transformative times - current situation, achievements and challenges, Q&A sessions.
- Round table ‘A good job means a mix of crucial ingredients’
- Expert interventions:
The role of AI in strengthening social dialogue and work empowerment.
Academy on Trade Union Renewal: the Strategy of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions/ EFFAT.
- Think-tank panel with opinion exchange „Looking ahead on new trade union strategies “
- Summary, conclusions and closing remarques.
Key ideas
Over the past years, the EU has faced series of crises. In those turbulent times, social dialogue and policies have been crucial in mitigating negative effects, not only providing support to vulnerable, but stabilizing economies. To guarantee resilience in the future, the EU must continue to strengthen its social policy frameworks, adapting to emerging threats. In addition, and mainly due to the rise of far-right political movements, the erosion of democracy, including of labour rights is deepening. Alongside these attacks against principle and rights, trade unions’ busting by employers is continuing. Similar situation obviously is not productive, it only creates poverty, fear, division, and hate. Logically, trade unions are obliged to respond to similar roll-back in social and labour achievements with unity, courage, and determination. The time demands from trade unions to demonstrate the full force of the united labour, making workers’ demands visible and impossible to ignore.
The added value of social dialogue is well proven – it is a factor which stabilizes the society and helps overcome crises. When dialogue stops, conflicts are beginning. That is the most relevant mechanism to make rights at work not just formality, but enforceable ones. Here to underline that dialogue and bargaining are bilateral processes, they demand active involvement. Thus, a radical shift in the employers and institution’s attitude towards social dialogue is needed. Social dialogue should not consist anymore only of empty and random consultations; it must become constant practice of meaningful exchange and understanding. A forum, where all opinions and interests, including those of workers or of their representatives will be considered and respected. Because, without meaningful dialogue, delivering tangible results for working people is not possible.
The need for constant adaptation of skills and jobs is no longer a matter of desire or choice. In that sense, trade unions’ position regarding transformations in employment is not only about the changes in the legal framework, but about building firm ground for secured jobs, based on dignity, well-being, and shared prosperity. For trade unions similar firm ground must include balanced mixture of policy instruments in support of employment & training opportunities, plus carefully designed social safety nets. Similar combination of well-designed policies and measures will permit to invest in the right skills, to create opportunities where there is demand and where there is a shortage in the labor market.
Conclusions and recommendations
The context in which of trade unions are operating is difficult – competitiveness and deregulation occupy the top of political agenda. Trade unions remain the only organizations struggling to defend workers who are increasingly gripped by concerns over the rising uncertainty and cost of living. It is time to demonstrate resilience, strength and adaptivity in addressing the most pressing issues of the world of work – equality, living wages, climate changes, regulation of platform economy.
Austerity policies in EU have proven to be failures both socially and economically. Trade unions have long highlighted their severe consequences on working people. To confront the multiple challenges in front, it is important for trade union to have clear and ambitious priorities to promote dialogue over division. One of those priorities should to be the constant monitoring on how public money is spend. It is important to ensure that companies, which receive public money are paying fair wages, and creating jobs rather than simply siphoning off money into the accounts of shareholders. That means also propose revision of fiscal rules to ensure that public money goes to organizations that respect workers’ and trade union rights, that negotiate with trade unions and whose workers are covered by collective agreements.
It is high time to directly oppose to employer dominance over employee interests and to the existing resistance to negotiate collective agreements. Here, trade union strategy must demonstrate how outdated is the idea “busting at all costs” and to promote the opportunity to build a collaborative relationship. Because, it is not only the tool to improve the overall quality of life for employees, but also it develops a sense of participation among workforce and helps to resolve disputes. It is crucial that all parties involved commit to constructive dialogue and work together to develop solutions that serve the interests of workers, employers, and society.
The fall in trade union membership and in the coverage of collective bargaining is significant. Thus, trade union strategies must to be focused on organizing, workplace learning and the procurement process as key responses to membership losses. Here, the organizing agenda is the key strategy – recruitment of new members should focus on the underrepresented workers and on those in precarious forms of employment. In addition, a new, more inclusive approach must be adopted - to empower workers, rather than simply ‘servicing’ them, by installing a culture of workplace activism and giving workers the skills to maintain organizational strength.
The potential avenue for trade union revitalization may be also campaigning for increased visibility of the positive results from social dialogue around broadly appealing themes, such as skills improvement, dignity, and inclusion. This will reinforce positive associations and will increase the general public’s awareness on trade unions‘ expertise in resolving workplace disputes, in finding compromise solutions and in mitigating negative effects from crisis periods.
Another possibility to attract new members is the implementation of projects to increase trade union capacity in economic expertise, of negotiation skills and in support of greater use of new technology in communications – both with members and with the society. In addition, ground actions must be activated and are to become more focused on the real situation at workplaces. That will permit to hear directly about the difficulties of working people and the hardships they encounter.
The chronic underinvestment in quality jobs, industrial policy, and public services. In that sense, now trade unions highly rely of the EU Commission’s proposal for Quality Jobs Roadmap. It must incorporate legislative initiatives, investments, and actions necessary to ensure high-quality jobs across all sectors and regions. In addition, trade unions are proposing indicators for quality jobs to be added to monitor developments and effectiveness of the measures deployed.