ZDS

The final project event - international conference entitled “Social Dialogue and Adaptation to Change” - was organised on December 6, 2012 in Skopje by the Organization of Employers of Macedonia (ORM) and the Association of Employers of Slovenia (ZDS).

The final conference gave social partners from three participating countries an opportunity to discuss social dialogue conditions in their respective countries, to present project results and exchange opinions and recommendations. SSD-SMM project manager, Ms. Tatjana Pajnkihar, described the history of social dialogue in Slovenia, the role and participation of social partners, the role of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Slovenia, collective bargaining system and the salary system. Participants from Macedonia, where social dialogue is not yet at the level of Slovenia, were primarily interested in what ways and to what extent the Slovenian government includes social partner representatives in the legislative amendment process.

The Minister of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Spiro Ristovski, stressed the importance of strengthening social dialogue in order to improve the economic situation in Macedonia while at the same time following the recommendations of the European Commission. Mr. Vlatko Gjorgievski, President of the Association of Agriculture and Food-Processing Industry at the ORM, introduced the proposal of adopting a new act on agricultural co-operatives. According to his estimates, the initiative should create 80.000 new jobs over the next two years. ORM President, Mr. Angel Dimitrov, emphasized that the project was instrumental in establishing the Association of Retail as a representative body within the ORM with the right of signing collective agreements for the sector.

In the final part of the conference, the President of Agrosindikat Mr. Živko Danevski and the President of Retail Trade Union Ms. Mirjana Hadži-Skerleva presented their opinions on social dialogue in Macedonia. Social partners agreed that progress has been made in the area of social dialogue, a fact which has also been documented in the European Commission report on the progress of the Republic of Macedonia.

Similarly, the representatives of the Montenegrin Employers Federation (UPCG) Mr. Mirza Mulešković and Mr. Branislav Begović pointed out that the project was an important step forward in improving social dialogue in Montenegro.

Overall, the project helped social partners from Montenegro and Macedonia where social dialogue is not yet fully developed to make important progress in this area.

The project SSD-SMM is co-funded by the European Commission.