From the COVID-19 emergency measures to defend employment and health and safety in the workplaces, to a new strengthened system of Industrial relation

Best practice examples of social partner involvement in measures and initiatives aimed at palliating the socio-economic impact of the pandemic 

During 2020-2021, in all EU Member States, governments as well as national, regional and local administrations and affiliated institutions (such as public employment services) have sought to introduce diverse measures to mitigate the potentially devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies, labour markets and whole societies.

Often, also businesses or employers’ organisations and trade unions or other bodies of employee representation have been involved, whereby the role of social partner organisations in participating in the design of or influencing these measures differs widely across the EU27.

This study provides an overview of the involvement of social partners in measures to cushion the negative impacts of the pandemic in the EU27. Moreover, it identifies and analyses social partner initiatives in selected EU countries and their potential transferability into other national, economic and social contexts. It can be shown that the degree of social partner involvement tends to be decisive for a measure’s effectiveness. However, its successful transferability into another context usually requires similar industrial relations systems as well as similar institutional settings, procedures and cultures.