SOME ASPECTS REGARDING THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Abstract

The concept of social dialogue is approached differently at international level. According to the definition proposed by the International Labour Organisation, the social dialogue represents the voluntary information, consultation and negotiation act issued in order to negotiate agreements between the social partners or to negotiate collective agreements. As a concept adopted at EU level, the social dialogue, established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, is a process of continuous information and consultation between unions and employers, so as to reach understandings regarding the control of certain economic and social variables, both in macroeconomic and microeconomic level. No matter how this concept is understanding, the social dialogue is associated with the transition from a culture of conflict to a culture of partnership with consideration of the common interests of the social partners involved in a broader process of “social cooperation”.