Working Together for Stronger Social Dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region
Statement of the BSLN Steering Committee
10 November 2010, Hamburg
The Baltic Sea Labour Network (BSLN) project’s Steering Committee, a high-level tripartite body for strategic and political decision-making, has agreed on the following thematic priorities: Finding solutions for the economic crisis fallout and for labour mobility within the Baltic Sea Region through social dialogue and active labour market policy development. This statement concentrates on defining the role of social dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region and the next possible steps in developing it.
One of the BSLN’s most important results so far is that it has enabled the creation of permanent cooperation structures for trans-national social dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region for the first time. Trans-national social dialogue is taking shape within the BSLN through the tripartite structures where trade union, employer organisation, parliament and governmental organisation representatives work together to create sustainable regional labour markets within Europe.
The BSLN’s starting point is to promote social dialogue and tripartite structures and cooperation as a crucial element of sustainable economic growth and social development in the Baltic Sea Region. Social partners have a shared interest in this: well-functioning labour markets are the backbone of economic growth. Thus, the BSLN will develop cooperation between trade unions, employer organisations and governments in the Baltic Sea Region to advocate joint solutions.
Social partners are the foremost experts on issues concerning the labour market and working conditions; therefore, Social dialogue plays a key role in achieving decent and productive working conditions. It also promotes democratic involvement, advances social and industrial peace and stability and boosts economic progress. Social dialogue strengthens the mutual feeling of trust and the social capital in our societies, which is beneficial to all. Well-functioning social dialogue is based on mutual agreements, joint goals and is an effective tool for solving problems together.
Models of social dialogue differ from country to country and are therefore not directly transferable from one country to another. However, high organisational density leads to high social dialogue representation and in the civil society as a whole. Thus it is of crucial for social dialogue to increase the organisational density and to organise employers and employees in the entire Baltic Sea Region. We call for a strengthened, institutionalised social dialogue at local and national levels in all countries in the Baltic Sea Region.
We are committed to the development of a Forum for Social Dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region (BSLN Forum), a cooperation platform for the social partners, governments and politicians in the Baltic Sea Region. The Steering Committee together with the BSLN Facilitator and Research Teams will serve as the founding platform for the Forum. It should be a platform for social dialogue on jointly identified problems and challenges, a knowledge pool for labour market policy issues of the region and a facilitating body for further activities needed in these areas.
The Forum’s agenda will concentrate on discussing and developing proposals to create sustainable labour markets, growth, competitiveness, high employment rates, and on addressing the labour mobility and service challenges in the Baltic Sea Region. We need widespread cooperation between employers, trade unions and governments.
We call for close cooperation between the Forum and the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and the European Union, especially the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Synergies with the Civil Society Forum, the broad initiative that is under development in the EESC, should be researched. The Forum for Social Dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region should be recognised as an important horizontal element in implementing the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. This recognition should translate into a guarantee for adequate resources in the future. The Forum should be seen as a key element in developing a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive Baltic Sea Region during the next Program Period 2014-2020.
On behalf of the Baltic Sea Labour Network,
Elīna Egle, General Director, Employers' Confederation of Latvia LDDK
Dr. Thomas Klischan, General Manager of Nordmetall, the employers association of the metal and electronics industry, Germany
Jan Lundin, Director General of the CBSS Secretariat
Mikko Mäenpää, President of the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK, Finland, Member in the Steering Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
Uwe Polkaehn, President of the Confederation of German Trade Unions Northern Region (DGB-Nord), Germany
Harri Taliga, President of the Confederations of Estonian Trade Unions EAKL, Estonia
Franz Thönnes, Member of Parliament, former Parliamentary State Secretary, Member of the Standing Committee of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
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