Informal Social Dialogue Meeting for the sport sector 27 th May 2009, Brussels MINUTES

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1 Moving forward towards European social dialogue in the sport sector: Content and Contact: CC-project The new project by EURO-MEI and EASE Co-financed by the European Commission Informal Social Dialogue Meeting for the sport sector 27 th May 2009, Brussels MINUTES Meeting Venue The International Auditorium Boulevard du Roi Albert II, Brussels, Belgium Please note that all annexes, presentations and background documentation as well as these minutes can be downloaded from: Opendocument&exURL= Participants See annex Participants Complete - HAND-OUT.pdf for the names, organisations and contact details of the attendees. The plenary session was co-chaired by Marcel Martin, EASE President Gissella Arends, FNV Sport President (Member of EURO-MEI) For further information, please contact: EASE 1, Avenue Pierre de Coubertin Paris cedex 13 FRANCE Ph.: +33 (0) Fax: +33 (0) Contact : Marie Barsacq Leroux / Emilie Coconnier ease@easesport.eu EURO-MEI (UNI-Europa) 31, rue de l'hôpital 1000 Brussels BELGIUM Ph.: +32 (0) Fax: +32 (0) Contact: Jim Wilson / Marjolein Oorsprong marjolein.oorsprong@uniglobalunion.or g Avec le soutien financier de la Commission Européenne Mit der finanziellen Unterstützung der Europäischen Kommission With the financial support of the European Commission 1

2 27 th May :00 Registration Plenary Session 09:30 Welcoming of the participants by the co-chairs Marcel Martin, EASE President and Gissella Arends, FNV Sport President (Member of EURO-MEI) welcomed the participants to the third event of the CC-project: the Informal Social Dialogue Meeting. They introduced themselves and their organisations. After that, they asked the participants to briefly introduce themselves and their organisations. See annex Participants Complete - HAND-OUT.pdf for the names, organisations and contact details of the attendees. 09:35 Organisational and housekeeping messages Marjolein Oorsprong, UNI europa Policy Officer Co-ordinator of the sport sector provided some information on the practical side of the conference. She informed the participants about the housekeeping rules of the ETUC, in the building of which the conference was held. She also gave information on the lunch and the refunding procedure for those participants eligible for a reimbursement of their travel and subsistence expenses. 09:40 Official opening of the Informal Social Dialogue Meeting Philippe Diallo, CoSMoS (Member of EASE) / EPFL introduced the social dialogue in professional football. The social dialogue has as its goal to fortify the relationship between employers and workers. For professional sports the actors are the clubs and the sportsmen and women. The European Commission facilitates this process. The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (SSDC) for professional football reflects the specificities of sport, namely its pyramid structure. FIFPro represents the workers in the SSDC, and ECA and EPFL the employers. These three parties have agreed on the rules of procedure of the SSDC. The professional football leagues do not all have the jurisdiction to represent the employers in the European Union Member States. UEFA, which was established 50 years ago, and which covers all the European Union Member States, but also eastern European countries, Turkey and Israël, is an observer in the SSDC because of its participation in the organisation of sport events and its power to set the rules of the game. UEFA presides the SSDC. 2

3 The objectives of the social dialogue are: Give input to the European Commission on all matters of labour law Negotiate agreements The SSDC meets in plenary (54 members) twice per year. The steering committee on which 12 members have a seat prepares and coordinates the work of the SSDC. The European Commission is an involved observer who facilitates the SSDC and brings its expertise and help to negotiations. Two working groups have been established within the SSDC: One group focuses on the definition of minimum requirements for employment contracts. It covers the European Union, Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The second group works towards a European collective agreement the overall goal of social dialogue that will protect, harmonise and clarify the relationship between employers and workers. In , a questionnaire was sent out to organisations in 53 countries to get an overview of the state of play of labour relations. The plenary session of the SSDC next September will be the occasion to take stock of this work, the progress of social dialogue in Central and Eastern Europe and the draft European collective agreement. New issues to be addressed could be: respect of contracts, discrimination, doping, protection of minors, second careers and the creation of a special pension fund. European social dialogue can only be effective if the players structure and professionalize themselves in such a way that a social Europe can be constructed. Simon Taylor, PPF (United Kingdom) explained what social dialogue means to the PPF (Professional Player Federation) in the UK and to the members of EU Athletes. The UK has no history of social dialogue, but it does have a history of well established player associations; the oldest being 101 years old. Some collective agreements on a sport by sport basis exist, but this is far from universal. The PPF brings together 13 player associations in the UK (including footballers, cricketers, rugby players, etc.) to share best practice and work together. The PPF does not negotiate across sports. The employers in British professional sport are not organised on a cross sports level they have never needed to be. 3

4 Then, he described what social dialogue in professional sport should look like. He referred to Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, who talks about the football family in which all stakeholders get together to agree the sensible application of EU laws and regulations to sport. The main question then is: where do the sport federations fit in? He underlined that the federations need to be on board, to make sure that they do not see the social dialogue as undermining their authority and to make sure as well that they know that social dialogue is a legally binding way of protecting the specificity of sport. He saw this as certainly a challenge for the future. Another challenge would be to get non-governmental sport organisation such as WADA and IOC to recognise the legally binding nature of social dialogue agreements. He explained that a unifying issue could help move these developments forward. Maybe WADA and anti-doping could be such an issue that could give sufficient momentum to set up social dialogue in professional sport. WADA rules impact on players contracts and collective agreements. 10:00 European social dialogue and the sport sector Heinrich Wollny, European Commission DG EMPL, gave a short explanation on European Sectoral Social Dialogue (ESSD). See annex Introduction European Social Dialogue.pdf for more information. One of the merits of European social dialogue is the consultation of the recognised European social partners. The European Commission is moving forward to also extend this consultation procedure (new policy on impact assessment) to other policy initiatives than just employment and social affairs, e.g. chemical policy or vocational training. Social partner organisations at European level need to fulfil certain criteria to be recognised by the EC: Their members have to be an integral and recognised part of the national social partner structures in the Member States. The European social partners have to have a mandate for negotiation from their affiliates. The European social partners have to cover several Member States. The EC will assess the European social partners on the basis of these criteria before an SSDC is created. The EC facilitates the meetings of the SSDC (e.g. with a chairperson, reimbursement of expenses and organisation of meetings) and can also provide legal advice if the European social partners wish to enter into negotiations for binding European agreements. Furthermore it facilitates contacts with other parts of the EC outside DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. 4

5 The European social partners can also agree on guidelines and recommendations including an evaluation process, or on tools and best practice examples to facilitate mutual learning and work towards higher levels than just harmonised binding minimum standards. The EC has received a year-and-a-half ago a formal request to set up an SSDC in the professional cycling sector. The AIGCP is currently doing a project to find out what topics could be on the table of this social dialogue. The European Handball Players Union has also applied for a project. EU Athletes have finalised a first project in 2008 and are currently working together with UNI europa / EURO-MEI on a second project. The EC considers the issues between players and federations not necessarily relevant for social dialogue, e.g. scheduling. Federations are not considered to be a social partner in professional sport by the Commission, but can be invited by the social partners to be observing participants or experts in the dialogue. In not-for-profit sport federations could have the role of employers. Sport is an new topic for the EC and the EC realises that there could be many potential conflicts between EU labour law / EU legislation and the labour relations in sport. The social dialogue would be an ideal tool to solve those conflicts in an inclusive manner, but this is of course up to the autonomy of the social partners. 10:15 European issues related to sport: state of play Mathieu Fonteneau, EOC EU Office, spoke of current issues at EU level in the field of sport and perspectives for 2009/2010. See: CCproject27May2009.pdf He explained that the relationship between the European Commission and the sport stakeholders has intensified through the so-called structured dialogue (as opposed to social dialogue) with Member States (Sport directors and Sports Ministers informal meetings, technical working groups, etc.) and sport actors (sport governing bodies; the IOC for example). Numerous EU studies in the field of sport have been launched on e.g.: internal market barriers to the financing of sport (e.g. sport betting), sports agents, volunteering, free movement of sport workers in the EU (one by DG EMPL and one by DG EAC), covering professional sport workers in individual sports. All these studies are included in the framework of the follow-up of the Action Plan Pierre de Coubertin. Preparatory measures were voted on by the EU Parliament (EP). The EP voted on a budget of 7.5 million euros to fund conferences on public health, the fight against doping, promotion of physical activity, education, fundamental concepts like social inclusion (disabled people) and equal opportunities (gender equality). 5

6 The new European Parliament will start its work in June 2009, the new European Commission end of A new Treaty on the (new) Functioning of the EU might be ratified by the end of In that Treaty sport will be a new field of competence of the EU (article 156 in the consolidated version of the Treaty). 10:30 Status of the project by EURO-MEI and EASE: Moving forward towards European social dialogue in the sport sector: Content and Contact (CC-project) Marjolein Oorsprong, UNI europa, Policy Officer Co-ordinator of the sport sector, gave an update of the CC-project. This conference concludes the project although some work still has to be done to finalise the studies undertaken and agree on the joint statement. Please see: Presentation CC-Project-FINAL.ppt 10:45 Conclusions of the conference on contractual landscape in the sport sector Marie Barsacq Leroux, EASE General Secretary presented the joint recommendations that were concluded after the project conference in London in December See JointRecommendationContracts-FINAL-EN SIGNED.pdf (also available in French) She first explained the study that was undertaken in the framework of the project into the contractual relationships between employers and sport workers not being professional sportsmen and women. Please see &09 Planet Labor Study- FINAL- EN.pdf (also available in French, German and Spanish) for the results of the study. Then she listed the minimum requirements included in the joint recommendations and explained some of the difficulties the social partners faced when compounding this list, e.g. the national differences as regards contracts and applicable law as well as differences in practices per sub-sector of sport. She explained that it is necessary to discuss the point in the list further in coming meetings to deepen understanding and find solutions. 11:00 Conclusions of the conference on health and safety in the sport sector Jim Wilson, Director of EURO-MEI presented the joint statement that came out of the project conference in Lisbon in April He mentioned that the conference was being held in the ITUH (International Trade Union House) which houses the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation). The General Secretary of the ETUC, John Monks, is also the honorary president of FIFPro Europe. He could not attend this conference, but has a strong interest in the work of EURO-MEI and EASE and could be the link with the professional football social dialogue. 6

7 He also apologised Bernadette Ségol, Regional Secretary of UNI europa, as well as several unions who have been driving forces behind the work on social dialogue in the sport sector (FeS-UGT from Spain, F3C-CFDT from France), but who unfortunately could not attend. Then, he explained the study into health and safety in the sport sector executed by the T.M.C. Asser Institute (Netherlands) forming the background of the joint statement. This study covers all 27 EU Member States. Although it is hard to generalise due to the many differences in law and practice at national level, there were still several points that could be discussed in social dialogue. Especially good practices could be found and discussed to the benefit of all stakeholders involved. In Lisbon, EURO-MEI and EASE concluded a verbal joint statement, which at this time, still has to be written down. The basic statement is that health and safety is a responsibility of both sides. Some of the points that will find their place in the joint statement are: A safety delegate or joint health and safety committee at every work place (via the works council if this is national practice) Measures to improve health and safety should be subjects for collective bargaining. Explore possibilities for proposals at the European level. The topics were divided into three groups (professional, not-for-profit, and commercial sport), although some of them are applicable to all groups. Some points are specific to only one group. Undesirable behaviour Protection of minors Safe transport and equipment Adherence to regulations Hygiene Training Certification Stress Responsibility of the management Scheduling and rest time Medical tests and support Anti-doping Safe work place, security Insurance Joint codes of conduct 7

8 The conclusions do not set standards, but underline the subjects on which there should be discussions in the social dialogue. 11:15 Coffee break (reconvene in separate rooms at 11:45) The participants reconvened in separate groups (employers and employees) to discuss the proceedings of the morning session and agree on preliminary conclusions to be discussed in the afternoon session. 13:00 Lunch 15:00 Common conclusions of the employers and employees Marie Barsacq Leroux, EASE General Secretary reported the common conclusions of the employers and employees. Please see: CC_ISDM_Conclusions_Employers_Final.pdf She reported the proposals from the employer group that were briefly discussed between secretariats over lunch and that were accepted by EURO-MEI. She started by explaining the two main principles of social dialogue in the sport sector: Subsidiarity Interaction between national and European social dialogue: to identify and exchange good practices. Then she explained the objectives of social dialogue in the sport sector: To secure the working relationship between employers and employees To structure the sector To professionalize the sector These goals can be achieved through self-regulation and new governance in the sport sector. The employers propose the following 5 steps: To complete the representativeness process To officially establish the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for sports To create standing committees under the plenary committee: o Professional sport o Not-for-profit sport o Commercial sport (active leisure) To endorse the Joint Recommendations on minimum requirements of employment contracts and the Joint Statement on health and safety of the CCproject To make a list of the subjects to be dealt with through the consultation process There is an important work to be done by the secretariats of EURO-MEI and EASE to take these steps. 8

9 The employee group agreed with these points and added specifically: Training (short and second careers) Contracts: privacy / working conditions (scheduling, rest period, working time) Health and safety: drugs 15:30 Perspectives for the future Heinrich Wollny, European Commission DG EMPL, explained that the European Commission is currently revising European Social Dialogue and will publish a communication by the end of The basic rules will stay the same, but some areas will be clarified: Creation of social dialogue committees The scope of social dialogue committees What is a European social partner organisation? Such an organisation: o Must have a mandate from their national members to negotiate at European level. This does of course not end the principle of subsidiarity o Must have a sufficient administrative capacity (is there full time staff)? Is the organisation capable of organising a feedback process with its members?) o Must consist of members who are recognised national social partners He underlined the importance of the questionnaire on representativesness of European social partners that EURO-MEI and EASE have to fill out and send back to the EC to take the next step in the process towards establish formal European social dialogue for the sport sector. He also explained how the NACE code can be used to define the boundaries of the sector and therefore the field that the European social partners have to cover to be representative. The Commission will try to avoid micro-sectors first of all for practical and financial reasons, but will also try to accommodate the specificities of sub-sectors. The European social dialogue committee can agree on joint statements, catalogues of best practices, guidelines, etc. that can then be promoted and implemented at national level. He underlined the importance to keep all national members on board to achieve this. 17:00 Conclusions of the Informal Social Dialogue Meeting for the sport sector Marie Barsacq Leroux, EASE General Secretary and Gissella Arends, FNV Sport President (Member of EURO-MEI) concluded that the conference had been productive and should certainly be followed up with more themed meetings, in the framework of European social dialogue for the sport sector. 17:30 End of day 9