Social dialogue is a shared objective of the EU and its Member States, and it works within diverse national systems while respecting the autonomy of social partners. It refers to all forms of negotiation, consultation or information exchange between governments, employers and workers on issues of common interest. Dialogue may take place as bipartite relations between labour and management, including collective bargaining, or as tripartite processes involving public authorities.

The European Commission supports social dialogue at EU level in several ways. It works with the cross-industry Social Dialogue Committee and 44 Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees, involves social partners in policymaking and lawmaking, and provides financial support to transnational projects led by social partners. Capacity-building for national social partner organisations may also be supported through the European Social Fund Plus.

Consultations with social partners form an established part of EU social policymaking. Under Article 154 TFEU, the Commission carries out a two-stage consultation on new legislative initiatives in areas listed in Article 153, including working conditions and occupational health and safety. The first stage seeks views on the direction of a possible initiative. The second stage focuses on the envisaged content. Social partners may choose to open negotiations at any point during this process, which suspends the Commission initiative for nine months. Agreements reached by social partners can be implemented autonomously or through a Council Directive under Article 155 TFEU. Only European social partner organisations that meet representativeness criteria participate in these consultations. These organisations must operate at EU level, be able to take part in consultations and negotiations, and be representative across Member States through recognised national members capable of negotiating agreements.

Social dialogue also functions at sectoral level. In commerce, it covers activities under NACE codes 45, 46 and 47, ranging from vehicle wholesale and repair to wholesale and retail trade. The Commerce Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee, established in 1999, brings together workers’ and employers’ organisations in a sector that employs close to 30 million people across around 5.8 million enterprises. The sector deals with fast-changing business models driven by the growth of e-commerce, green and digital transformations, labour shortages, rising violence and harassment from clients, and supply chain pressures. UNI Europa – Commerce and EuroCommerce take part in this dialogue, which currently focuses on the digital and green transitions, capacity building, EU policies, and health and safety.