Development of social dialogue in the Czech Republic
The 2001 Phare twinning project (CZ-IB-1999-CO-02) titled “Social Dialogue Development” focused on enhancing awareness of the social dialogue in CZ and improving the information base of social partners and mutual understanding for necessary actions that need to be taken in order to promote social dialogue. The project partners on the Czech side were the Czech MoLSA and Czech social partners (Czech Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Confederation of Employer and Entrepreneur Associations, Confederation of Art and Culture). On behalf of Denmark, the Danish Ministry of Labour and the Danish Employment Office (AMS) in an alliance with Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Confederation of Danish Employers (DI) and Research Centre of Employee Relations of the University of Copenhagen (FAOS). As part of this project RILSA elaborated a study called Social Dialogue Development in CZ, providing a comprehensive overview of social dialogue in CZ since the early 1990s. The study focuses on identification of systemic barriers reducing capacity of social dialogue and presents an overview of the deficiencies detected and suggests possible solutions. The study contains information about political climate and the existing legal rules and information about social partners. A lot of information is comprised in the section dedicated to social partners’ evaluation (development in membership of trade unions and employer associations, possible reasons for a reduction in membership, evaluation of organisational structure, activities and forms at various levels). The draft of the study was finished in 2001 and subsequently it was subject to an extensive debate, both at workshops for the stakeholders and at a meeting with the work team for industrial relations, collective bargaining and employment of the Council for Economic and Social Agreement of the Czech Republic. At the same time an extensive consultation took place with a whole range of trade unions and employer associations, including some of the rather small ones.
Outputs
HÁLA, Jaroslav et al., 2002. Development of Social Dialogue in the Czech Republic. Praha: RILSA.