Actualisation of the local governments participation as a social dialogue party at the territorial level
Actualisation of the local governments participation as a social dialogue party at the territorial level
PREAMBLE
Current trends in state administration show that its effectiveness is based on tools for establishing relations between entities with different (sometimes opposing) social and economic interests. An important component of this process is the system of social dialogue, which is now the basis of the International Labour Organization.
This specialised UN agency was created to improve welfare through the creation of constructive relationships between the organisations of the main subjects in the labour market -employees and employers — with the participation of the authorities. The ILO’s activities are enshrined in many conventions and recommendations that construct relationships that are not confrontational but rather cooperative to ensure an optimal balance of interests. And thus, to create the preconditions for political and social sustainability of society — a necessary condition for its development and success.
In Ukraine, social resilience during a full-scale war has acquired a new meaning — as acomponent of national security and preservation of the state’s ability to maintain social cohesion in the situation of threat.
European and Euro-Atlantic integration remains a constant priority, which makes no sense without establishing dialogue relations. Both those established by the ILO and those that are situationally determined, which is especially evident at the level of specific communities. And it is not only about the current issues of local labour markets, but also about the need to address the problems of martial law, despite which local governments continue their work today. Direct military actions, occupation, missile and artillery shelling, internally displaced people, evacuations, blackouts are obvious factors that create additional challenges for local authorities. A particular factor that affects local labour markets and local budgets is the relocation of some businesses from the war zones and neighbouring areas. Thus, local authorities face the issues how to operate under such conditions. And these activities require the involvement of various actors in decision-making.
Interaction between state authorities, local community leadership, legally established organisations representing labour market entities and NGOs representatives and volunteer initiatives is today the «puzzle» that makes up the self-organisation that can become a model for the Ukrainian system of social dialogue. After all, the experience gained during the war actualises the participation of local governments as a subject of dialogue relations in general and as an already existing party, normatively determined system of social dialogue. Nevertheless, the results of the preliminary analysis indicate that local self-government bodies are working in a stable vertical system inertially, which is incompatible with the very idea of social dialogue as a consultative and negotiating interaction. One of the reasons for this is the lack of social dialogue actualisation in the LSGB activities and the lack of awareness of the possibilities of dialogue practices at the community level. This was a kind of «trigger» for the formation of a specific initiative and contributed to the formulation of its name. It should be noted here that there are many interpretations of the term «actualisation» — from psychological to engineering. We stick to a purely managerial understanding of it. It is an activity aimed at transferring something from a potential state to a real, actual state that meets modern conditions.
The initiative was implemented in several communities in Kharkiv region. The choice of locations was influenced by different experiences of the communities during the war, namely communities that:
were under occupation;;
felt the impact of military events or were in the so-called «grey zone»;
are in the zone of «relative peace».
Without claiming to be a thorough study, the project team aimed to identify problems and find ways to solve them. Thus, the implementation of the initiative «Actualisation of the local governments participation as a social dialogue party at the territorial level» is a pilot project, as the participants in the process are aware that this problem is one of the most fundamental in the public administration area. One of the work conditions (which was discussed during the first contacts with the LSGB management) was a certain «anonymity» of the locations, which is related to the specific situation of the communities in Kharkiv region at the time of the project, which was at the frontline. So, with gratitude to all those who helped in this work, we have to note that the topic of social dialogue at the territorial level is significant and relevant. The only thing that remains is the actualisation and understanding of this in the cooperation of those who create the military and will create the postwar and peaceful space of communities.
Actualisation of the local governments participation as a social dialogue party at the territorial level /I.Dubrovskyi, D.Kostin, V.Repin – Kharkiv., 2023. – 25 p.
Ukrainian national platform of the Eastern partnership civil society Forum (http://eap-csf.org.ua/) is a network of more than 140 non-governmental organizations in Ukraine that defends Ukrainian interests within the framework of the Eastern partnership. The platform is a part of the Eastern partnership civil society Forum(EaP CSF).
Eastern partnership civil society Forum (https://eap-csf.eu/) is a multi-level regional civil society platform aimed at promoting European integration, fostering reforms and democratic transformation in six Eastern Partnership countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. As the civic element of the EaP, EaP CSF tries to strengthen civil society in the region, increase pluralism level in public discourse and politics by promoting participatory democracy and fundamental freedoms.
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