Legislation and Collective Bargaining

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Legislation

Legislation sets down minimum requirements for health, safety and welfare that have to be complied with by law. Much legislation concerning health and safety comes from European Directives, but this is transposed into national legislation by the Member States, where it is enforced by the relevant national authorities. Member States may also have their own specific legislation. It is therefore important to make reference to relevant national legislation to ensure compliance.

European Legislation

Collective Bargaining and Social Dialogue

The European social dialogue is a unique and indispensable component of the European social model, with a clearly defined basis in the EC Treaty. It refers to the discussions, consultations, negotiations and the joint actions undertaken by the social partner organisations representing the two sides of industry (management and labour).

At European level, social dialogue takes two main forms - a bipartite dialogue between the European employers and trade union organisations, and a tripartite dialogue involving interaction between the social partners and the public authorities.

Social Dialogue

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