NGOs and Academy Should Join Collective Bargaining Processes

ZaMirZine

22 April 2008

The Union of State and Local Administration (SDLSN) of the Republic of Croatia proposes that the social dialogue between the Government and the administration trade unions should also include representatives of the nongovernmental organizations and academic community.

The Union believes that certain issues that are subject to negotiations of exceed the competence and the expertise of either of the social partners, due to their complexity, which makes the assistance from outside, in the shape of experts from the civil sector or the academic community more than welcome.

NGOs and the academy could and should represent the public interest in negotiations on issues related to the efficiency and quality of services provided by the public administration.

The Union noted that such a formal inclusion of NGOs and academic community is needed because of the fact that they hesitate to join the work of negotiation teams and committees, as advisors to either party of negotiations, because it implies the position of `paid help` that pushes the agenda of either party.

Their formal inclusion in the process, believes SDLSN, would allow them to maintain the dignity and position of independent experts that represent the public interest and help the two parties of the negotiations to agree on the best solutions.