Professional Sports Meeting (level 1) - Minutes

Transcription

1 Professional Sports Meeting (level 1) - Minutes Held on Tuesday, 30 th October 2007 From to in Brussels at the offices of EURO-MEI Participants Andrew Chapman (EC - Deputy Head of Unit Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities); Pedro Velazquez (EC - Deputy Head of the Sport Unit, DG Education and Culture); Mathieu Fonteneau (EU Sports Office - European Affairs Officer); Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (EPFL - General Manager); Jair Bertoni (EPFL - Assistant to the General Manager); Frédérique Winia (FIFPro Manager and Project Manager of the social dialogue in professional football); Stéphane Burchkalter (FIFPro - Lawyer); Alex Phillips (UEFA - Head of Professional Football Services); Julien Zylberstein (UEFA - EU Coordinator); Jonas Hoffman (EEAA and SP.IN - Project Manager); Stijn Boeykens (SPORTA V.S.B Secretary); Nick Bunting (RFU - Head of Planning, Funding & Resources); Mark Schober (Handball-Bundesliga - Director of Marketing and Business Development); Rita Pinto (CPAT - Technical Secretary); Carlos Ponce (Fes-UGT - Federal Secretary responsible for sports); Fabien Maneuf (UCPB Director); Cécile Huet (SNB - UBE - Attorney at Law); José Ruiz (SCB France President); Franck Leclerc (FNASS Administrator); Thibaut Dagorne (UNECATEF - Director); Bernadette Ségol (UNI-Europa Regional Secretary); Marjolein Oorsprong (EURO-MEI Co-ordinator of the sport sector); Marie Leroux (EASE - President Delegate and RBT Project Manager) and Emilie Coconnier (EASE - Policy Officer). RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 1

2 Agenda 1/ Welcoming message and apologies 2/ Presentation of EASE and EURO-MEI 3/ Presentation of the RBT project 4/ European sectoral social dialogue framework 5/ Exchange on the White Paper on Sport 6/ Presentation of the football situation 7/ What should be a Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee? - Debate 8/ Subjects to be dealt with at European level - Debate 1/ Welcoming message and apologies André Langenus (BBTK/SETCA - Union for the employees, technicians and managerial staff ) ; Jean-Luc Flagothier (Belgium Basketball Association) ; Arne Josefsen (Danish Handball League Association) ; Kresten Blaesild (Danish Athletes Association) ; John Slade (Estonian Rugby Federation) ; José Luis Llorente (Spanish Professional Basketball Players Association) ; Kristofer Sparring (Swedish Hockey Players) ; Damian Hopley (UK Professional Rugby Players Association) ; Simon Taylor (UK Professional Players Federation) ; Gerd Butzeck (G14 Handball) ; Marion Pelissié (French Rugby Trainers Union - Tech XV) ; Yann Barbitch (French Basketball Players Union / European Basketball Players Association) ; Stefano Di Salvatore (Italian Rugby Players Association). 2/ Presentation of EASE and EURO-MEI Bernadette Ségol (UNI-Europa Regional Secretary) welcomes all the participants at UNI- Europa s offices. She presents her organisation. UNI-Europa is the European regional branch of Union Network International. EURO-MEI is the media and entertainment sector of UNI-Europa. She explains the reasons why EURO-MEI is involved in the RBT project. EURO MEI is cooperating in the project to initiate a social dialogue in the sport sector at European level. She expresses the need of a concrete dialogue between employers and the trade unions in the sport sector in order to regulate common social issues. For the building of a social dialogue in the sport sector at European level, it is necessary to have a long-term view of the objectives. She concludes by saying that the trade union network of EURO-MEI is really strong in Europe and needs to organise an active participation of its sport sector members. Marie Leroux (EASE President Delegate and RBT Project Manager) continues with the presentation of EASE explaining its vision and missions. She presents the members of EASE and the difference between the full members and the associate members. Full membership of EASE is open to employer groups and associations that are formally recognised within their own country as the representative body for employers within at least one sub-sector of sport, RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 2

3 Associate membership of EASE is open to formally constituted associations/groups of employers within sport (or a defined sub-sector) that have the capability to represent employers at a national level and are willing to promote the aims and work of EASE in countries where there is no full member of EASE in a particular sub-sector (Article 6 of EASE operating statutes). EASE is an umbrella organisation. EASE is organised through 3 commissions (voluntary sport, professional sport, commercial sport), which are established to encompass the special interests of those three sub-sectors. The mobility of workers in all the sub-sectors of the European sport sector is very high. Not only players, but also support workers work in different countries during their careers. EASE activities towards building a European social dialogue in the sport sector started already with the leadership of EASE in the BSDSS project ( Building the social dialogue in the sport sector at European level 2003). After that, EASE participated in the VOCASPORT and EUROSEEN projects and is currently participating in two projects dealing with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). 3/ Presentation of the RBT project Marie Leroux presents in-depth the RBT project, its aims and the method of working. The project partnership consists of a management group, made up of EASE and EURO-MEI and 4 project teams made up of a member of EASE and a member of EURO-MEI for each team. The project works along three levels: Level 1 - social partners who are identified at national level and already affiliated at EU level. Activities organised at this level are the Professional Sports Meeting, the Informal Social Dialogue Meeting and the Final Conference Level 2 - social partners identified at national level but not affiliated at EU level. This level targets the countries Spain, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Austria and with a round table for stakeholders from the sport sector in each country. Level 3 - countries where the sport social partners do not exist at national level and are, of course, not affiliated at EU level. This level targets the countries Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic with visits by the project partners to organisations that can be of help to build national social dialogue. Marie Leroux takes the opportunity to extend the invitation to the RBT project s Final Conference to all those present. 4/ European sectoral social dialogue framework Andrew Chapman (EC - Deputy Head of Unit Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) explains the general features of the social dialogue at European Union level with its 2 dimensions: - the bargaining area: a forum in which social partners can shape the employment relations, - the consultation: the moment when the Commission enters into the process. This is an instrument introduced by the Amsterdam Treaty. RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 3

4 Governance instrument in Employment and Social Affairs Consultation Bargaining Area (Joint initiatives) / October 2007 He also comments on the legal basis of the social dialogue at EU level: the 2 articles of the EC Treaty: - Article 138 gives the Commission the task of promoting the social dialogue at Community level, and encourages the Commission to consult the social partners. "the Commission shall have the task of promoting the consultation of management and labour at Community level and shall take any relevant measure to facilitate their dialogue by ensuring balanced support for parties ; to this end, before submitting proposals in social policy field, the Commission shall consult management and labour on the possible direction of community action". - Article 139 gives the opportunity to the social partners to make contractual relations and agreements. "Should management and labour so desire, the dialogue between them at the Community level may lead to contractual relations, including agreements". In those articles, the European Commission describes the framework of negotiation: consultation or simply exchange of information between, or among, representatives of employers and workers on issues of common interest relating to social policy. An active dialogue between social partners leading to shared goals and practical commitments is the "raison d'être" of the social dialogue. This presupposes that the social partners at European level have a real support from their members, giving them a mandate to negotiate agreements at European level, as well as a commitment to follow them up, and providing them adequate resources and structures to be able to respond. The European Commission encourages the involvement of the social partners at European level. Their role is a key feature of the European social model, which combines a number of values responsibility, solidarity and participation. RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 4

5 Andrew Chapman gives a definition of a social partner at EU level and lists the characteristics needed for a social partner representative at EU level. The European social partner must: - relate to specific sectors or categories, and be organised at European level; - consist of organisations which are themselves an integral and recognised part of Member State's social partner structures, and have the capacity to negotiate agreements, and which are representative of several Member States; - have adequate structures to ensure their effective participation in the work of the committees. Therefore, the members of European social partners must: - be recognised at national level as a social partner; - have the capacity to negotiate collective agreement at national level. Representativeness criteria EU level Cross-industry or specific sector/category Recognised social partner at national level; capacity to negotiate; several Member States Adequate structures to ensure effective participation / October 2007 Bernadette Ségol explains the experience of UNI-Europa in capacity to negotiate. She explains that there is an obligation for the social partners to transmit to the national level what they are doing at European level. She said that it is therefore a long process to build European industrial relations. Indeed, European social partners are in charge of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee s (SSDC) functioning. They decide on the rules of procedure of their dialogue, the level, the rhythm, the content, and the dialogue and on the outcome of the dialogue. At European level, the social partners are always umbrella organisations (representatives of employees and employers), which are made up of national affiliates. Andrew Chapman commented the role of the European Commission (EC). The EC: - respects the autonomy of the sectoral committee, - leaves a free choice of the agenda of the social dialogue to the social partners, - proposes a chairman if necessary, - will do everything that can help the committee. RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 5

6 The social partners autonomy and responsibility Com Social dialogue table - Decide on the rules of procedure of their dialogue (objectives, preparation, presidency ) - Decide on the level and rhythm of their dialogue (number and type of meetings) - Decide on the content of their dialogue (agenda of the meetings) - Decide on the outcome of their dialogue European Commission / October 2007 The participants of the meeting explain that the professional sport sub-sector has specific issues to discuss at EU level such as: career funds, training systems, standards contract, image rights, doping, etc. Andrew Chapman answers that the European social partners representatives in the SSDC can decide a specific structure of the SSDC. In order to allow the implementation of social dialogue on specific issues between social partners representatives, the European social partners could decide on working groups, sub-groups and standing committees inside the SSDC. Bernadette Ségol gives examples of Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees organised with sub-commissions or working groups composed of maximum 15 people each. Andrew Chapman gives an overview of the situation of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees recognised by the EC. There are now 35 SSDC and the objective of the EC is to reach 40 committees in the next years. As a consequence, Marie Leroux says that the sport sector will not have several Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees, because the economy of the sub-sectors would be too low to have their own SSDC. That is why EASE and EURO- MEI defend a SSDC for the whole sport encompassing specific sub-sectors. 5/ Exchange on the White Paper on Sport Pedro Velazquez (EC - Deputy Head of the Sport Unit) explains the process that led to the writing of the White Paper on Sport: The preparatory phase or consultation phase lasted from 2005 until It featured: Dialogue and consultations with sport stakeholders Co-operation and consultations with EU Member States Internal consultations within the Commission RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 6

7 The responses to the consultations highlighted the following: Comprehensive initiative holistic approach Careful balance between societal role, economic dimension and organisation of sport Respect of subsidiarity, autonomy of sport organisations Respect of current EU legal framework These responses were taken into account for the final drafting of the White Paper. The aims of the White Paper are: - to give awareness of the specificities of the sport sector to the EU members - and to give some strategic orientation on the role of sport in the EU. The White Paper gives key ideas and political messages but there is also an Action Plan Pierre de Coubertin, which contains 53 concrete actions. The participants debated the societal role of sport, the economical dimension of sport and its organisation. The next steps of sport s organisation are: - improving the structures for dialogue on sports at EU level, - strengthening the cooperation with EU Member States, including a re-enforced rolling agenda on sports, - enhancing EU social dialogue in the sport sector. Pedro Velazquez concludes by saying that it is up to sport stakeholders to take their responsibilities to push things forward! Marie Leroux underlines the encouragement of the European Commission about the social dialogue in the sport sector. The last recommendation of the Action Plan Pierre de Coubertin, (conclusion of the White Paper) says: «(53) The Commission encourages and welcomes all efforts leading to the establishment of European Social Dialogue Committees in the sport sector. It will continue to give support to both employers and employees and it will pursue its open dialogue with all sport organisations on this issue». This recommendation is a great opportunity for national social partners to play a role at European level. The professional sport, where there are specificities to defend, is of course directly concerned. Instead of defending those specificities country by country, the social dialogue at EU level gives the opportunity to harmonise those issues all around Europe. It is a way to be proactive and to propose, by European collective bargaining, specific and common solutions. For this reason, it is the right time to build the European social dialogue, with strong European social partners recognised as representative by the EC. The European Commission already received the request of the professional football to establish a SSDC. 6/ Presentation of the football situation After a presentation of FIFPro and its 4 projects on social dialogue since 2003, Fréderique Winia (FIFPro Manager and Project Manager of the social dialogue in professional football), presents the actual state of play in social dialogue in professional football. RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 7

8 UEFA develops a Professional Football Strategy Council, which aims at adopting a European Charter. Moreover, the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the UEFA and FIFPro is a concrete example of where social dialogue can lead. Frederique Winia states that with this agreement, a balance between labour legislation and the specific characteristic of football was reached. Indeed, an implementation of minimum requirements of standard players contract has been reached. To improve social dialogue, FIFPro is striving for a European Collective Bargaining Agreement. Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (EPFL - General Manager) gives an outline of the situation in Portugal. Since a ruling of a Portugal s court in 1995, the professional leagues in Portugal are recognised as social partners. He explains that social dialogue is not essential, but is an important tool and could ensure stability. He also mentions the fact that every social partner in the sport sector seems to agree with the Lisbon Treaty s content, contrary to the White Paper s content in which UEFA and FIFPro have disagreements. 7/ Conclusion Marie Leroux thinks that the football situation is a good example to learn about social dialogue at EU level, because it gives many elements of what should be a sport social dialogue committee. Because of the limited time, the participants can not debate about the parts 7 and 8 on the agenda. So, Marie Leroux proposes to treat these fundamental issues at the RBT project s Final Conference in Arnhem on 7th and 8th February After this final remark, Marie Leroux closes the meeting and thanks all the participants for their input. She wishes them all a safe journey home and hopes to meet them again at the Final Conference in Arnhem. RBT Professional Sports Meeting 30 th October Minutes 8