Tools for Social Dialogue

Please note that these tools are designed to be used as a reference. For a professional advice, please refer to your trade union, labor rights organization, NGO or other relevant organizations in your country. 

• Interactive Guide to Your Labor Rights:

In order to get the most out of a social dialogue it is important to know your rights. On this page, different types of rights and examples are discussed. To see the document, please click the view button below, it will open in a new window.

• Info Sheet: Relevant Data for Meaningful Dialogue

In a negotiation it is useful to have information ready regarding your sector and country. It can strengthen your arguments and place them in context. In the table in the document you can find the types of information that are helpful in a negotiation. To see the document, please click the view button below, it opens in a new window.

• Info Sheet: Preconditions for Social Dialogue

NTSD (national tripartite social dialogue) cannot operate effectively in a country in the absence of certain preconditions. The most important preconditions are freedom of association, long-term commitment and institutional support. To see the document, please click the view button below, it opens in a new window.

• Guidance for a successful social dialogue by businesses

This short guide describes how businesses can successfully engage in social dialogue by linking the context they operate in, to the types of social dialogue that could benefit them. Some examples give very high gains in productivity (see for instance the case of the Maha Oya Group on socialdialogue.org).

Various sources give guidance on the enabling conditions for a successful social dialogue, such as transparent and open communication [1]. In practice, each business context is unique, this means that the type of social dialogue differs per context. As an initial guidance, five different business contexts that can manifest themselves due to internal or external factors are set out in the document below. Note that these are examples and should, therefore, be considered as illustrative and guiding companies in a general way.

• Checklist: Mutual Gains Negotiation

Negotiations are often part of a social dialogue process. This checklist helps to have a constructive and effective negotiation with sustainable outcomes. Per step of the negotiation process, it shows a checklist of actions. 

• Template: Procedural Agreement

A procedural agreement is a written document which is signed by all parties creates a basis of trust and structure for social dialogue processes. A template for a procedural agreement is given in the document below. It is important to note that this template should be a taken as a guide and be adjusted to the specific local context and legislation. A guide to legislation that is relevant for social dialogue can be found on the tools section of socialdialogue.org.

The elements of the template are modular and can be adjusted on whether the document has a more formal (including trade union recognition and formal arrangements for representatives) or informal (agreement on how to conduct industrial relations on a day-to-day basis) character. At the bottom of page three of this template suggestions for additional elements are given.