Social dialogue in the sector of social services covers activities related to NACE codes 87 and 88 (residential care and non-residential social work), both the public sector part of social services and the for-profit and non-profit parts, provided by NGOs and private enterprises.
More than 9 million people are employed in the EU in the sector of social services, according to the Eurofound representativeness study for Local and Regional Governments and Social Services (2020).
Workers' organisations
- European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU)
- European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) - participation in plenary meetings
- UNI-Europa (UNI) - participation in plenary meetings
Employers' organisations
- Federation of European Social Employers (Social Employers)
- Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR-CCRE
Challenges
The challenges faced by the sector include:
- promoting collective bargaining and social dialogue with a view to improving working conditions
- recruiting and retaining workers
- improving health and safety at the workplace, including preventing,
managing and reducing musculoskeletal disorders - psycho-social risks at the workplace
- the increased use of digital technology
- the development of new care patterns
- the skills mismatch and the need for regular upskilling
Key areas
The social partners are currently focusing on:
- Occupational health and safety
- Retain and attract the social services workforce, promoting the workforce diversity and improvement of working conditions.
- Public procurement, promoting socially responsible public procurement for social services and the inclusion of social requirements and quality in the procurement process.
- European Care Strategy follow-up, paying special attention to workforce and skills aspects of the care strategy.
- Strengthening the capacity of social partners and the quality of social dialogue in the social services sector, and developing and improving social dialogue structures across all EU countries
- Promoting an exchange of knowledge and experience among social partners,
- Influencing EU policies by participating in consultations on new initiatives.
Activities and meetings
Check the library entries for this sectoral social dialogue committee.
Achievements/Joint texts
Check the social dialogue texts database