THE INDUSTRY LEVEL AS AN “INTERMEZZO” TO SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Abstract

The presented article analyzes the state of the sectoral level of social dialogue in Ukraine. At the same time, the authors of the publication draw attention to the disproportion between the types of economic activity (codes) of the National Classifier and concluded sectoral agreements; the need to analyze the concept of “industry” and the real need to distinguish between the concepts of “industry” and “sub-industry” or “sector” from the point of view of feasibility, the potential of their representation in industry agreements; improper representation of the subjects of the parties to the social dialogue, both on the part of trade unions and employers. The social partner of the sectoral agreement is not always representative from the point of view of legislation. According to the authors of the publication, there is a duplication of representative functions by the social dialogue side in Ukraine, which may become a prerequisite and necessity for further consolidation of such associations. At the same time, duplication of representation of one social partner is observed in sectoral agreements. In particular, the Professional union of workers of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine is a social partner in six out of ten sectoral agreements for the relevant type of economic activity. There is a need to rethink the concept of “industry”, the criteria for assigning an enterprise, institution, organization to the relevant industry from the point of view of the content and meaning of collective bargaining regulation, as well as the creation/improvement of a mechanism for registering industry agreements, taking into account the criteria of representativeness of the parties to the social dialogue. The representativeness of the subjects of the parties to the social dialogue (performed by the National Mediation and Сonciliation Service) and the registration of industry agreements (performed by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine) by various state bodies complicates the organizational interaction between interested stakeholders, leads to a disproportion in the quantitative and qualitative representation of the interests of interested stakeholders in each of types of economic activity. At the same time, the criteria of representativeness must be adequate in nature and meet the requirements of the time. Taking into account the foreign experience of the EU countries, the key standards and guarantees of the regulation of labor relations are determined during negotiations at the sectoral level, it is important to promote the development of sectoral level collective agreements and the spread of successful practices of the negotiation process. The development of social dialogue at the sectoral level can have a positive impact on the collective bargaining process and, as a result, on the dispositive practice of forming social and labor standards in Ukraine.