June 9th, 2021
Stronger cooperation between social partners, new dialogue initiatives and new links were established and new organisations have emerged as the pandemic has driven various stakeholders to pull together. The mapping of the situation of the social dialogue in the commercial life performance sector has shown that the crisis has to some extent aligned the interest of employers and employees resulting in a closer cooperation that will hopefully overlast the pandemic.
Supported by the European Union in the frame of a project, the European Social Partners in live performance – Pearle* on the employers’ side and EAEA (FIM, FIA, and UNI MEI) on the workers’ side – have been working together to map the situation of social dialogue in the commercial live performance sector in five countries: Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, and Serbia.
The objective of this work has been to see whether social dialogue exists in this sector, whether there are some obstacles to social dialogue, and what could be done to remove those obstacles to establish and strengthen social dialogue. A mapping of the situation was implemented in each project country to this end. The sector is shaped by a range of formal and less formal agreements, and varying forms of employment relationships. The mapping of the situation shows that social dialogue needs to adapt to this reality and that traditional social partners need to find ways to better understand and represent the interests of workers with atypical work arrangements and of institutions with complex formal statuses.
On 8 and 9 June 2021, the project came to conclusion with a final conference. The conference brought together the research at national level but also looked at good practice from other regions, such as how to reach out to young workers and atypical workers, and how to set up an employer organisation. Further, the conference looked at the impacts of the pandemic on the sector, highlighting a positive example of strengthened collaboration between the social partners.
As theatres and live venues begin to reopen across Europe, strong cooperation between workers and employers can lay the foundation for a positive outlook.
In conclusion of the work, the European social partners propose some measures that can support social dialogue at national level.
Please find the research and the conclusions attached.
