1. European Social Fund and Social Partners Partnership Joint actions in all Members States Capacity building in Convergence Regions
DG Employment, Social Affairs and
Equal Opportunities
Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations Unit
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

2. European Social Fund Created in 1957 Structural Fund
financial support for efforts to develop employability and human resources
accompanies European Employment Strategy
managed at national level
11 billion € for
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

3. 9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

4. Partnership in the ESF Article 5.2 - Partnership
“The Member States shall ensure the involvement of the social partners and adequate consultation and participation of other stakeholders, at the appropriate territorial level, in the preparation, implementation and monitoring of ESF support.”
The partnership principle is fundamental to the programming and implementation of European cohesion policy.
In the ESF, social partners have a privileged role.
COM convinced that ESF cannot work without the SPs who are closest to the workplace, and are key players in the implementation of social measures and employment policies.
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

5. Capacity building and joint actions
Article 5.3 Part I - Beneficiaries
“The managing authority of each operational programme shall encourage adequate participation of the social partners in actions funded under Article 3 (scope).”
Social partners should be beneficiaries under all ESF priorities in all MS
Not only involve in planning, management and monitoring, but also promoters of actions.
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

6. Capacity Building (NEW!)
Article 5.3 Part II – Beneficiaries in Convergence Regions
“Under the Convergence objective, an appropriate amount of ESF resources shall be allocated to capacity-building, which shall include training, networking measures, strengthening the social dialogue and activities jointly undertaken by the social partners (…)”
Legal obligation to provide for funding of individual capacity-building and joint actions in Convergence Regions
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

7. Examples I - Possibilities
Creation of national training centres of social partners
Campaigns for social dialogue and recruitment of more employers and employees to participate in social dialogue
Training sessions on information and consultation processes, collective bargaining, mediation & arbitration, participation to European Works Councils (EWC)
Setting-up and re-enforcement of mediation systems
Web-based databases of collective agreements and labour law
Actions aiming to set up/reinforce sectoral social dialogue
Training for public officials involved in industrial relations
Projects concerning the implementation of European social dialogue agreements (for example, framework agreement on stress at work) at national and/or regional level.
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

8. Example II - Hungary “Social Renewal” Draft Operational Programme
Priority 2: Enhancing adaptability
Improving the accessibility to training
Developing the institutional system of training and career orientation
Anticipation and managing restructuring
Flexibility, security and safety at work
Enhancing partnership and social dialogue
Capacity building and preparation of NGOs’ for the service provider role
Combating undeclared work
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

9. Example II cont. - Hungary
Programming of measure 2.5.
1st draft has been worked out in a small expert team of civil servants based on the suggestions of social partners.
2nd draft: Tripartite working group has been set up responsible for elaborating the details of the activities to support
“Partners” are SPs (in the case of certain interventions) NGOs, but …
separate calls for social partners and for NGOs guarantee transparency and sufficient resources for both sectors
Involvement
Difference between NGOs and SPs, that I will come to in a minute
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

10. FAQs
It has to be made sure that Operational Programmes mention support for social partners explicitly.
While civic dialogue including NGOs is encouraged in the ESF regulation, social partners necessarily play a special role.
The obligation to allocate an appropriate amount exists for ALL convergence regions.
Capacity building and joint actions are not excluded in regional competitiveness regions.
Capacity-building also for one side only
Implementation at national and regional level
We have drafted a technical fiche to assist MS and country desks in DG EMPL to understand better the provisions concerning SPs. (Will be adopted in November)
Important that you insist with your ministries to include capacity building and earmarking in OPs. 2.
3. Also in eastern Germany!
4. i.e. HQs in Lisbon can run project for Portugal.
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit

11. For proposals, contact the authorities in charge at national and regional level.
9-May-19
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ─ Unit