Tripartism and social dialogue in Central and Eastern Europe

In Central and Eastern Europe, the ILO played an important role in establishing and strengthening social dialogue and tripartism after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The change in the early 90s was quite profound because trade unions functioned in a different way in the old system, employers’ organizations and private enterprises hardly existed before in this region and the government’s role was different. The ILO’s support was essential after 1989 to establish employers’ organizations, to form new trade unions or transform the old ones into modern organizations.

Nevertheless the importance of social dialogue as an instrument of participation and realization of fundamental principles and rights at work and of consensus building on social and economic policies is still far from being accepted and understood everywhere in the region. There are still a number of problems preventing social dialogue from operating properly in the region, such as the insufficient legal framework, the weakness of social partners, the ineffectiveness of the institutions of social dialogue and a lack of experience in social dialogue.

ILO assistance

The ILO DWT/CO-Budapest provides assistance in strengthening bipartite and tripartite institutions for social dialogue at all levels of decision making, in reforming the legal framework, and in strengthening government institutions in dealing with social dialogue and industrial relations as well as workers' and employers' organizations. It provides a whole range of services such as training activities, technical seminars, advisory missions and sub-regional meetings for exchange of information and experience. Also, it runs technical cooperation projects funded by different donors aimed at strengthening the framework and the practice of social dialogue in the countries of the region on a medium-term basis.