1. Utrecht June 6th 2014 Research Partners Workshop Service User and Workforce Involvement: the European Dimension Stephen Bach King’s College, London Stephen.bach@kcl.ac.uk Stephen.bach@kcl.ac.uk With financial support from the European Union

2. Presentation structure Phase 1 aims: - perspectives social partners/NGOs on research themes Definitions/ambiguities civil society EU turn to civil society: - implications and outcomes Sectoral social dialogue Relationship: social dialogue and citizens’ dialogue

3. Research Phase 1 Interviews with EU stakeholders: - social partners & civil society representatives Challenges/opportunities inclusion of service users in institutions//practice SD Examine activities EU sectoral social dialogue committees

4. Terminology Customer Consumer Client Service user Citizen Stakeholder... Civil society Term favoured in EU discourse e.g. European Citizens’ Initiative -Citizens’ Dialogue -Involvement civil society

5. Civil society - ambiguous Opposition to the state? Tea Party movement Complementing the state? The Big Society/3 rd sector etc Civil society organisations (working definition): - established voluntarily by citizens - organised around the promotion of an issue(s) - autonomous from the state/supra-state - organisations do not aim to maximise profits

6. EU: The Turn to Citizens Aims Context since 1990s Widen stakeholder input into policy: - EU democratic deficit & legitimacy deficit? - ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ policy making stakeholder inclusion Achieve ‘better’ policy outputs and practice: - involvement of wider interests - effective service delivery

7. Implications Transmission belt for citizen concerns? Wider legitimacy & more inclusive than SPs? Participative v. Representative democracy Aspiration: bring EU closer to its citizens

8. White Paper on governance (2001) Diagnosis: - Many people feel alienated from the Union’ s work (p.7) - the goal is to open up policy-making and make it more inclusive and accountable. A better use of powers should connect the EU more actively to its citizens and lead to more effective policies (p.8) - civil society plays an important role in giving voice to the concerns of citizens and delivering services that meet people’s needs(p14). Prescription: It is a chance to get citizens more actively involved in achieving the Union’s objectives and to offer them a structured channel for feedback, criticism and protest Concrete measures?

9. Treaty of Lisbon TFEU (2009) Art. 11.2 The institutions shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society. European Citizens’ Initiative [ECI] (2012) (Article 11.4): - invite Commission to issue legislative proposals - policy initiation remains with the Commission Process - Citizens’ Committee (7 member states) - 1m signatures; minimum 7 member states; one year Results: Water is a human right (1.9m signatures) - against liberalisation/privatisation

10. Responses and outcomes Civil society activated by the EC – access, resources - variations between DGs in terms of engagement Civil Society Contact Group represents: - ‘large rights and value based NGO sectors’ - 8 umbrella groups e.g. European Public Health Alliance Social platform (1995): 49 Social NGOs: - campaign on employment, social justice - include voices excluded by trade unions - alliances with ETUC – Spring Alliance - seek institutionalised civil dialogue

11. A contested contribution

12. European social dialogue TFEU – Lisbon 2009 Union as a whole to promote role of social partners at EU level - Tripartite Social Summit (Art 152 TFEU) - consultation of social partners by the Commission & support for their dialogue (Art 154 TFEU) - ‘contractual relations’ including agreements, can be concluded by the social partners (Art155 TFEU) Sectoral social dialogue: 41 committees - Hospitals and Healthcare (2007) - Education (2010)

13. Sectoral Social dialogue: Challenges Variable involvement and results: - between countries - between social partners – employer engagement - achieving effective outcomes/national follow-up Impact of the crisis: - resources and participation - sensitivity of austerity measures - EU budget saving measures

14. Activities sectoral SD Committees Hospitals and Healthcare/Education: - relatively new especially Education (2009/10) - establishing the employers’ side e.g. EFEE - employers often government ministries - member state competence - SD one of several priorities (e.g. HOSPEEM) Sectoral social dialogue and service user pressure: - does not register directly as a priority in SD - indirectly – role of parents/pupils improving school governance/leadership

15. Social partner perspectives Employers: - service user pressure or involvement - degree of autonomy influences scope to involve users Trade unions: - Ideology: Individualised conception of involvement: consumer rights perspective - collective orientation: services of general interest - Legitimacy: representative v. participatory democracy: independence - resources made available to civil society organisations - SPs are integral to civil society

16. Discussion Increased role for civil society in EU policy making Relationship social dialogue (SD) to civil dialogue(CD): - academically/policy terms separate spheres - CD: primary concern EU governance - SD: primary concern worker voice/social Europe Response of social partners to CSO: - Substitute? - Complement? - alliances on specific issues? - Ignore? Connection EU level to national/workplace level: - same debates and issues ?