The sectoral social dialogue - telecommunications

Article by Christina Jayne Colclough

The sectoral social dialogue in the telecommunications sector has produced a number of joint initiatives and outcomes. However, behind the results achieved classic power games are being enacted, both between the two partners, and within their ranks. On the employers' side, the competitive nature of the European telecoms sector, coupled with the complex ownership histories of companies, creates a fragile constellation. Hence the path towards achieving common goals is often one of contest. On the employee side, the organisational set-up within the global union with UNI-Europa as a semi-autonomous branch of UNI with little direct responsibility for the telecommunications sector as well as diverse interests and internal groupings amongst the member unions, necessarily implies that unions are not always natural allies. In general then, the joint outcomes of the sectoral social dialogue are the result of complex processes of compromise and contest.

Transfer vol. 11, no. 3, p. 391-396, Bruxelles, 2005.