On 4 February project partners first met at the kick-off meeting in Ljubljana.
Project partners had the opportunity to present the current state of social dialogue / collective bargaining in the tourism and hospitality sector, which is mainly in the candidate countries (Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro) underdeveloped and lagging behind the guidelines and recommendations of the EU.
Montenegro's representatives highlighted in particular the problem of a large number of micro and small enterprises, which are not members of the employers' and trade union organizations, thus, sectoral collective agreement does not bind them. The specific of Montenegro is also a Tripartism: when concluding the general collective agreement a partner in the negotiations is, in addition to employers and trade unions, the government. Problem in Serbia represents a large number of trade unions; they cannot establish appropriate communication which could lead to a conclusion of quality sectoral collective agreements and quality conditions in the labor market. Political interference in the formation of trade unions and consequently nontransparent / modified labor market statistics is also problematic. In Macedonia, the sectoral collective agreement for the hospitality and tourism does not exist. A large number of micro-enterprises and illegal forms of work are a problem as well.
Representatives from the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) Natali Komen-Bujas and the Tourism and Services Trade Union of Croatia (STUH) Duska Loncar explained in detail the state of play of social dialogue in the Croatian tourism sector which is well advanced. Not only collective bargaining on national and company level is well developed but also the Social Council for Tourism is very active. HUP and STUH give many important recommendations to address certain problems occurring in the tourism sector and joint initiatives, such as VAT, redistribution, daily rest, etc.). The problem of too rapid adaptation and changing the labor legislation in accordance with the EU guidelines in the accession process was also mentioned; namely, with changing the labour law a possibility of general validity of collective agreements was abolished.
Project partners were acquainted with the Slovenian experience and examples of good practice in the conclusion of sectoral collective agreement in the field of tourism and hospitality. Secretary General of the Slovenian Trade Union for Hospitality and Tourism Sector Karmen Leban outlined the course of hard 28-months lasting collective bargaining, which led to a quality branch collective agreement with extended validity.
Secretary General of the tourism sector in the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Workers (EFFAT) Kerstin Howald stressed the importance of the European Social Dialogue for national social dialogue. She presented the mission of EFFAT and the results / agreements adopted by the European social partners in the hospitality and tourism sector. Among them she mentioned recommendations for avoiding illegal forms of work, online training, compliance with the Directive on Public Procurement, and the European Qualification and Skills’ Passport. EU and national governments are responsible for strengthening the capacity of social partners and must not only approve, but also protect, promote and facilitate national / sectoral social dialogue. She stressed that the adopted EU standards are only the minimum, in each Member State the provisions may be regulated in a better way.
Independent Legal Adviser at ZDS and project manager of “Tourism is People” mag. Maja Skorupan summarized the purpose and objectives of the project and the management plan of project activities. She presented a draft questionnaire on the state of social dialogue in the tourism and hospitality sector and social dialogue in the country; the questionnaire will collect detailed information on social dialogue in the participating countries, development of the sector, the state of collective bargaining and the necessary further steps to regulate the situation in this area and beyond.
Barbara Hrovatin, Project Manager at ZDS, went through the organizational, financial and administrative issues and asked partners to send the expenses claim forms for the costs they had.
With financial support by the European Union.