A new International Labour Organization (ILO) report has highlighted how social dialogue can enable countries to pursue economic development alongside social progress, while ensuring fair and inclusive low-carbon and digital transitions.
The report titled ‘Social Dialogue Report 2024: Peak-level Social Dialogue for Economic Development and Social Progress’ focuses on “peak-level social dialogue” (PLSD) which is a set of institutions and processes whereby governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations negotiate, consult each other and exchange information on labour, economic and social matters at national or sectoral level.
The ILO, in a release on the report, indicated that PLSD can contribute to decent work, fairer labour income distribution and just digital and green transitions. It also underlines that respect in the law and practice of freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining is essential.
However, the labour organization clarified that but the capacity of PLSD to shape change remained weakened when socio-economic policies are driven by short-term considerations and exclude important segments of society.
Commenting on the report’s findings, the ILO’s Assistant Director-General for Governance, Rights and Dialogue, Manuela Tomei, said: “This edition of the Social Dialogue Report is published amid economic and geopolitical instability.
“In a context where technological advances, climate change and demographic shifts are deeply transforming labour markets, social dialogue remains a credible governance model for navigating complexity, identifying fair solutions and advancing social justice”, the labour expert added.
The report draws on case studies, industrial relations data, a global review of PLSD processes and outcomes, and a perceptions survey of 71 employers’ and workers’ organizations in 38 countries on the effectiveness and inclusiveness of National Social Dialogue Institutions (NSDI).
Similarly, it emphasizes the essential prerequisites for effective PLSD and more importantly, the report finds that countries’ compliance with freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining has deteriorated by 7 per cent between 2015 and 2022.
The report attributed this decline to an increase in violations of the fundamental civil liberties and bargaining rights of employers, workers, and their representative organizations.
Tomie stressed that “countries that uphold these fundamental labour rights are better positioned to unlock PLSD’s transformative potential, reinforcing both social justice and democratic governance.”
The report revealed that NSDIs were present in 87 per cent of ILO member-states and that three-quarters of workers and two-thirds of employers view them as effective, but concerns remain over inadequate follow-up by governments or public authorities on social dialogue outcomes, as highlighted by the perceptions survey conducted for this report.
Another matter of concern raised in the report is the inclusiveness of NSDIs and gaps in relation to the needs of underrepresented groups, such as women, youth, and workers and economic units in the informal economy.
The report’s findings showed that in many countries the importance of the involvement of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the design and governance of employment policies or social protection systems was being recognized.
For instance, it revealed that more than 30 per cent of public employment services include employers’ and workers’ representatives on their management boards, while 25 per cent of national employment policies identify tripartite consultation as a key requirement. In addition, the findings showed that approximately 80 per cent of ILO’s 187 Member States have established peak-level tripartite occupational safety and health (OSH) bodies, while social protection reforms in 65 countries have extended the coverage of pension, health, and employee benefits, with the involvement of social partners.
The report also reviews the role of minimum wage fixing involving social partners and sectoral collective bargaining in addressing the cost-of-living crisis and promoting wage equality, stressing that where national minimum wages set by governments in consultation with the social partners co-exist with sectoral minimum wages determined through collective bargaining, PLSD is more effective in tackling high labour income inequality.
The report indicated that evidence suggested that PLSD fosters societal consensus on digital transformation and decarbonization policies. Yet, reliance on PLSD to manage this twin transition is more prevalent in countries with well-established social dialogue institutions and where digital penetration is more intense.
It noted that a review of 118 social dialogue processes from 2022-2023 shows that around a quarter addressed twin transition-related themes, mostly in Europe. A new generation of industrial policies aimed at economic diversification and structural transformation, and centred around the twin transition, present a timely opportunity to advance the role of PLSD in guiding this transition.
On what should be done to unlock the power of PLSD, the report disclosed that to fully unlock PLSD’s inclusiveness and effectiveness countries must uphold fundamental principles and rights at work, especially freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
Also, it also urged the countries to equip labour administrations and social partners with the necessary resources and technical capacities for effective participation in PLSD; expand the outreach of NSDI’s and social partners to under-represented groups; and conduct regular, evidence-based evaluations of the role and influence of PLSD institutions in socio-economic decision-making.
