(Co)financer: European Commision

Duration: 1. 3. 2026 - 28. 2. 2028

Head of the project at UL SEB

Polona Domadenik Muren PhD

Short project description

In recent years, the European economy and labour market have been facing the so-called “twin transition” – digitalisation (including the development of artificial intelligence and algorithmic management) and the transition to a climate-neutral economy (“green transition”). These shifts bring significant challenges and opportunities for jobs, working conditions, and the knowledge and skills that employees will need. Social partners (employers’ associations and trade unions) play a key role in anticipating, preparing for, and managing these changes, as well as in ensuring a just transition for companies and workers.

Social dialogue and collective bargaining are fundamental mechanisms for reaching compromises and shaping measures in a changing environment. In Slovenia, as elsewhere in the EU, social partners are already addressing topics such as new work models (e.g. platform work, remote/home-based work), the need to upgrade skills (re- and upskilling), and measures to reduce the environmental footprint of the economy. However, rapid technological development and environmental requirements call for the upgrading of existing social dialogue practices. New competencies, more effective structures, and the exchange of good practices between countries are needed to ensure that social partners can meet these challenges and actively co-shape policies for the digital and green transition.

In 2023, the Council of the EU adopted a Recommendation on strengthening social dialogue in the EU, emphasising the importance of involving social partners in policymaking and supporting the reinforcement of their capacities at all levels. In its Communication on strengthening social dialogue (COM(2023)40), the European Commission also calls for a “new start for social dialogue” and for the full use of its potential in managing just transitions.

This project directly responds to these calls and to the priorities of the SOCPL-2025-SOC-DIALOG call, as it will strengthen the capacities of social partners through concrete activities and contribute to adapting collective bargaining to changes in the field of work and employment. In addition, the project supports EU initiatives such as the Just Transition Pledge, the European Digital Strategy, and the Green Deal, all of which highlight the importance of social dialogue in these areas.

The main objective of the proposed project is to strengthen social dialogue and collective bargaining in the context of the digital and green transition in the participating countries, with the support of experience at the EU level. This will be achieved by bringing together employers’ associations, trade unions, and European partners in joint activities aimed at developing common recommendations and guidelines, exchanging knowledge, strengthening capacities, and promoting the active involvement of social partners in national and European policies.

Through the project’s activities and results, we will further support the implementation of European-level agreements and influence policies by:

– supporting the implementation of existing autonomous agreements of European social partners at the national level, particularly the Framework Agreement on Digitalisation (2020),

– and encouraging discussion on the need for new initiatives in the field of the green transition.

In addition, the aim is to strengthen the contribution of social partners to EU policymaking – both through the European Semester process and by developing joint recommendations addressed to the participating countries, which will be submitted to national governments and European institutions (e.g. the European Commission). In this way, social partners will play a more active role in shaping policies for the digital and green transition at the European level.

Project Coordinator

• Združenje delodajalcev Slovenije GIZ, Slovenia

Consortium members

• Munkaadok Es Gyariparosok Orszagos Szovetsege, Hungary
• University of Ljubljana, Slovenia:
  • School of Economics and Business
  • Faculty of Public Administration
• Balgarska Stopanska Kamara - Sayuz na Balgarskia Biznes, Bulgaria
• Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, Slovenia
• Republikova Unia Zamenstnavatel'ov, Slovakia

Associated partners

• BusinessEurope - La Confederation des Entreprises Europeennes, Belgium