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Worldwide, and also within the European Union, there is a strong debate on the conditions for a creative social dialogue in organizations. The problem-solving potential of this formal dialogue between employer and employee representatives is crucial and has already been shown in different organizations, however, is not always easy to achieve. In this chapter, we first discuss the role of social dialogue in Europe and the changes that currently take place. Then we present the framework of the studies forming the base of this book: the New European Industrial Relations (NEIRE) model. This model focuses on outcomes and key factors contributing to creative social dialogue in European organizations. At the end of the chapter we briefly describe the results of surveys and interviews gathered from more than 700 human resources managers in eleven European countries, participating in this project.

The chapter deals with management perceptions on social dialogue in Belgium. Based on interviews with the HR managers of 5 different sectors together with the results of a survey, we conclude that Belgian HR professionals are overall satisfied with social dialogue in their companies. Although all HR managers appreciate company-level dialogue with employee representatives, sectorial and regional differences are observed. Specifically, social dialogue seems to be more conflict-driven in manufacturing, the energy and the food sector, whereas it is rather consensus-driven in banking and higher education. Furthermore, Belgium’s strong regional dimension causes variation, since social dialogue in Flanders is described to be consensus-oriented, while it is portrayed to be rather conflict-driven in Wallonia. Therefore, specificities related to the sector under investigation (such as the nature of the workforce, technology or developments within the sector) as well as regional patterns should be integrated when studying company-level social dialogue.

The current Danish labor market system dates back to 1899 and has been regulated through general agreements since then. We refer to it as the Danish model. The social partners have responsibility over wages and working conditions, only health and safety are regulated by law. There is a long tradition for conflict resolution at company level and through labor law jurisdiction. Consequently, the labor market is highly flexible; employers can easily let workers off, however they will be supported by public security systems. Nevertheless, employers find bodies like the works council and the safety committees to be very old fashioned and troublesome to work with. However, there is a positive expectation of a possible reinvention of the Danish model through better training and education of ERs. Employers especially call for an improvement of the ERs’ competences to analyze and negotiate a more proactive attitude from ERs. To achieve this they find that it’s necessary for unions and ERs to leave the conflicting attitude aside.

The relationship between employers and employees in Estonia is dramatically changing. Globalization, economic turbulence, increasing competition, new technologies and the changing world of work and employees themselves with increasing level of education are now at the basis for industrial relations change. Estonian industrial relations are characterized by the development of a general trend towards individualization, which means that employees deal about their working conditions individually (I-deals). This leads to a decline in union membership, and increases employees’ elected representatives (trustee) role. Drawing on the results from a survey among Estonian HR managers we observe that the conflict management by ERs is principally cooperative. According to the results from the interviews with employees working in HR departments (HR specialists) six main concerns emerge: need for improvements in employee representatives’ professionalism, need for more cooperation-oriented attitudes of the employee representatives, need for building up stronger mutual trust, need to rise works council’s prestige and need to have better knowledge of the EU policies on employment relations related issues.

The first part of the chapter provides an overview of historical, legal, political, and cultural factors which have shaped the system of industrial relations in France to this day. Drawing on the quantitative results of an on-line survey and on the qualitative analysis of a series of interviews with a sample of HR managers in France, part 2 and 3 analyze how employers perceive employee representatives when it comes to social dialogue: eight factors impacting the quality of industrial relations are summarized. Building on this, part 4 introduces eight suggestions to improve the quality of social dialogue in France.

This chapter analyses German management’s perception of industrial relations in Germany, in particular their working relationship with works councils. Generally, we demonstrate how management welcomes works councils’ positive contribution in shaping employment policies. A picture is presented, to which German industrial relations—known widely as ‘Modell Deutschland’—are seen as the quintessence of a social partnership approach to employment relations. Underpinning such a system is an acknowledgment on the part of management that such a relationship is ultimately one of conflict and cooperation. Hence, the task facing management and works councils involves jointly managing divergent interests so to ensure the sustainability of social partnership in Germany.

Collective bargaining in Italy primarily takes place at two negotiation levels: at the industry or sectorial level, which addresses issues such as the periodic determination of the pay and conditions for the industry or sector, and at the company level or plant level, which addresses specific workplace problems. Until the early 1990s, the balance between the two levels changed according to external circumstances. It was with the Tripartite Agreement of 23 July 1993 that the competencies, procedures and issues pertaining the two levels were clarified. Ever since, other agreements between trade unions and employers’ organizations addressed the issues related the two levels. The agreement signed in April 2009 makes clear that greater decentralization of bargaining is seen as a mechanism to “re-launch” a growth in productivity and therefore of real incomes. This poses enormous challenges to employee’s representatives as they assume a key role for the social innovation and competitiveness of the company.Drawing from interviews and a survey, it seems that Italian HR managers are aware of this key role of employee representatives, so much that they would like them to be more competent, open to change and less conflictual. They believe that a more cooperative environment leads to better agreements for both parties at the negotiation table.

The Netherlands has highly institutionalized industrial and employment relations, as is illustrated by the so-called Dutch ‘Building of employment relations’, in which the works council plays an important role. Although Dutch industrial and employment relations are quite peaceful—very few strikes—a serious threat to Dutch industrial relations is the current flexibilization of the labor market, causing a gap between so-called insiders and outsiders on the labor market. Dutch government and central social partners are currently trying to close this gap, and the works council can also play a role, for example by pressing the company to appoint workers with difficult positions on the labor market. This asks for open dialogue and constructive negotiations between management and works council. Based on ten interviews and a survey among Dutch HR managers, it appears that social dialogue is quite constructive within Dutch organizations. Most managers talk openly with the works council, involving ERs early in the process of decision-making, trusting them, and sometimes they succeed in innovating the system of employee participation, especially by extending employee participation to employees. The survey shows that Dutch HR managers perceive relatively little task conflict with ERs, high integrity of ERs, cooperative conflict management by ERs, high impact of ERs on innovative issues (e.g. CSR) and high organizational commitment of ERs.

In this chapter, the social and historical context of the labor movement in Poland as well as the current situation of Polish trade unions including NSZZ “Solidarity” are discussed. Results of employer’s perceptions on ERs are presented based on the survey among 58 Polish HR managers of different sectors. Suggestions are given by employers on how to improve social dialogue in Poland. The results are not very optimistic since social dialogue is not naturally present in Polish companies. Therefore it’s of key importance to provide workers and employers in Poland with the empirical evidence and good practices in Europe showing the benefits of an innovative social dialogue.

In recent years, economic austerity policies in Portugal have had significant implications for the labor market and industrial relations in general. This new reality questions the traditional role of trade unions and poses important challenges not only to Unions and Employee Representatives but also to HR managers. Results from interviews and surveys among Portuguese HR managers suggest that there is still a long way to go towards a constructive social dialogue. Employee representatives and employers are still opponents at the negotiation table and the impact of employee representatives in decision-making processes—both for traditional and for innovative issues—is still very low. According to HR managers, this situation can only be improved with a significant change of ERs’ attitudes and competencies. They need to accept change, be willing to innovate, improve their knowledge and competencies, and adopt proactive behaviors that promote organizational sustainability. This is a time to strengthen relations between employee representatives and employers to find innovative and flexible solutions that meet the needs of employees and employers.