Social Dialogue and Tripartism Paradigm at the Level of the European Union

ABSTRACT: The problem of social dialogue and conceptual crystallization (Ștefanescu 2017) of this phenomenon was an element of maximum interest for European legal doctrine and specialized practice, especially at the level of the European Union and international bodies with attributions in the field of labor protection. Thus, the International Labor Organization (ILO) proposes a working definition for social dialogue (Popescu 2021, 37), which reflects processes and practices found in different countries and which regards social dialogue as a voluntary act of information, consultation and negotiation of social agreements between partners, as well as negotiation of collective labor contracts. More precisely, according to the definition proposed by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Social Dialogue includes any type of negotiation, consultation or the simple exchange of information between representatives of the government, employers and workers on topics of common interest regarding economic and social policies (Popescu 2021, 36). There can be a tripartite process in which the government formally participates in the dialogue, or it can refer to bipartite relations, involving only representatives of workers and management (or trade unions and employers’ associations), in which the government participates indirectly or not.

KEYWORDS: trade unions, employers’ associations, social dialogue, partnerships