The Governance of Policy Reforms in Southern Europe and Ireland
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The governance of policy reforms in southern Europe and Ireland The governance of policy reforms in southern Europe and Ireland Social dialogue actors and institutions in times of crisis Social dialogue actors and institutions in times of crisis Edited by Konstantinos Papadakis and Youcef Ghellab ILO The governance of policy reforms in southern Europe and Ireland Social dialogue actors and institutions in times of crisis The governance of policy reforms in southern Europe and Ireland Social dialogue actors and institutions in times of crisis Edited by Konstantinos Papadakis and Youcef Ghellab International Labour Office, Geneva International Labour Office • Geneva Copyright © International Labour Organization 2014 First edition 2014 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on con- dition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with reproduction rights organizations may make copies in ac- cordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. Papadakis, Konstantinos; Ghellab, Youcef The governance of policy reforms in southern Europe and Ireland social dialogue actors and institutions in times of crisis / edited by Konstantinos Papadakis and Youcef Ghellab; International Labour Office. - Geneva: ILO, 2014 ISBN 978-92-2-129309-5 (Print) ISBN 978-92-2-129310-1 (web pdf) labour relations / social dialogue / administrative reform / economic recession / role of EU / Greece / Ireland / Italy / Portugal / Spain 13.06.1 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications and electronic products can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publications, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of new publications are available free of charge from the above address, or by email: pub- [email protected]. Visit our website: www.ilo.org/publns. This publication was produced by the Document and Publications Production, Printing and Distribution Branch (PRODOC) of the ILO. Graphic and typographic design, layout, composition, printing, electronic publishing and distribution. PRODOC endeavours to use paper sourced from forests managed in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. Code: DTP-JMB-REPRO iv Foreword FOREWORD In 2012 the ILO and the European Commission (EC) partnered on a joint research and capacity-building project that aimed to analyse the impact of structural reform and fiscal consolidation policies on the labour market and industrial relations of selected European countries; to assess the role of social dialogue during the adjustment process; and to understand the latter’s main impact. The project focused on severely hit crisis countries that have been un- der the assistance programmes financed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the EC, and the European Central Bank (ECB), in particular, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Portugal – but also Spain – which received financial sup- port to repair its financial sector, as well as Italy, which has also been facing a debt problem and very weak economic growth, and implemented significant reforms accordingly. The research component of this project – which built on ILO research initiated since 2008 on “good practices” in the area of policy responses to crises, and the Global Jobs Pact adopted by the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 2009 – involved national studies on key industrial relations developments as of 2010 (i.e. the onset of the public debt crisis). The studies served as background material for a series of policy-dialogue and capacity-building seminars that took place in 2012 and 2013, in Geneva, Dublin, Lisbon, Athens and Nicosia. These seminars, coordinated by the ILO, have been the first effort to bring to- gether in policy dialogue national policy-makers, social partners and represen- tatives from the IMF, EC and ECB, to assess the labour and industrial relations situation in Europe, and discuss the merits of social partnership as a key com- ponent for equitable recovery. In addition to facilitating dialogue, the seminars also contributed to sharing experiences between national constituents and so- cial partners from other countries on crisis-related matters. The national seminars portrayed an urgent need for policy-makers to ensure a greater commitment to international policy coherence, in order to reconstruct or strengthen tripartite economic and social institutions that have been weak- ened by the crisis. From an ILO perspective, social dialogue cannot thrive in an environment where freedom of association and collective bargaining rights are weakened, where the space for social concertation is reduced and where social partners are weak or fragmented. The seminars also served to identify areas where ILO assistance could be sought during the structural adjustment process, and to design follow-up. For instance, after the June 2013 Athens Seminar, the ILO, with support from the EC and the Greek Government, launched technical assistance activities aimed at reviving social dialogue and modernizing labour legislation in Greece. Also, the ILO provided technical support to the Government of Portugal in the area of dispute resolution. v The governance of policy reforms in southern Europe and Ireland The present volume draws on national studies as well as the themes that were extensively presented and debated during the national seminars. Its main pur- pose is to capture the major changes that were introduced into national systems of industrial relations, as well as their future policy implications. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the authors and the edi- tors of this volume; to Jonathan Aspin for his key support in putting together the volume; and to Sylvain Baffi as organizer of the national seminars where the first versions of this volume’s chapters were presented and debated. All chap- ters have benefited from the valuable support of Nancy Varela and Sarah Doyle from the Governance department, who provided research and administrative support at all stages of this project. We would also like to thank Chris Edgar and José Garcia for providing invaluable support in the final stages of the prepara- tion of this publication and to the three anonymous external and ILO peer reviewers for their critical comments on the draft versions. Last but not least, special thanks go to the tripartite constituents from Cyprus, Greece, Portugal and Ireland, as well as to the representatives of the EC, IMF and ECB, who par- ticipated in the four national seminars’ panels and debates, and the Geneva research workshop. Their insightful comments have been key in improving the comprehensiveness of the volume chapters, and inspiring the drafting of others. The views expressed in this edited volume are the authors’ only and do not necessarily reflect those of the ILO or the EC. Moussa Oumarou Heinz Koller Director Director Governance and Tripartism Regional Office for Europe Department and Central Asia International Labour Office, International Labour Office, Geneva Geneva This project has benefited from the financial support of the European Commission vi Contributors CONTRIBUTORS Andrea Broughton is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), where she has worked since 2006. She has a degree in Modern Languages and a Masters in International Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. She has more than 20 years’ experience in research and writing in the areas of employment relations, working conditions and in- dustrial relations, specializing in international comparative research. Before join- ing IES, Andrea edited the journal European Industrial Relations Review. She has wide experience in managing international projects and working in inter- national teams, working for clients such as the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Apostolos Dedoussopoulos is a Professor in Labour Economics at Panteion University of Political and Social Sciences, Department for Economic and Regional Development in Athens, where he lectures