WG 5 inauguration meeting recommendations - Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

CSF 2012 Working group 5 inauguration meeting recommendations

29-30 November 2012

Stockholm, Sweden

The WG 5 recommends the CSF to propose to the EaP Ministerial meeting to set up a thematic platform 5 focusing on social policy and employment within the Eastern Partnership, where Ministries of Labour (or respective governmental institutions) of the EaP countries would be involved. This platform should come under the remit of the European Commission‘s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

If the establishment of a new platform 5 is not possible because of some objective reasons, at least, alternatively, to establish a sub-platform under the existing Platform 2 (Economic integration and convergence with EU policies) focusing on social and employment trends, seeing this (sub) platform as its political interlocutor within the EaP.

WG 5 calls for compliance with the fundamental workers’ rights to be fully recognized in the Eastern Partnership. More broadly, WG 5 call on the countries concerned to make the requisite efforts to achieve progress towards integrating European and International Norms, as defined by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the European Social Charter and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and towards establishing the ‘’social rule of law’’. The compliance with these norms must be included amongst the formal criteria used in drawing up and evaluating association agreements. The WG5 considers important to task the national platforms with monitoring activities re. compliance with the national legislation and practices with these international obligations and reporting the outcomes to the EaP institutional bodies and hence to contribute to the EaP road map and national progress reporting processes.

WG 5 reiterates the importance and the need of conducting comprehensive research on the state of affairs re. social dialogue and social partners in the EaP countries. Its key objectives shall be to address all the various levels of social dialogue and its actors and to identify the barriers and impediments to implementing efficient social dialogue in the various countries.

WG5 also considers important to raise awareness of EaP civil society organisations about the social dialog and its implementation in the countries of the EU, about social partners and their role and relations with other civil society organization and to exchange experiences between the countries about social and civil dialog practices.

Among the most pressing issues, the WG5 participants defined: labour migration and trafficking for forced labour, MNEs, informal employment.

In the coming weeks the coordinators will further define thematic priorities via e-communication with the WG5 members. The WG5 members will also be requested to contribute to the EESC opinion paper on social dialog in EaP countries.