Final Conference of Sectoral Social Partners’ Joint Project on Capacity Building in the Temporary Agency Work Sector

The joint project conducted  by the EU Social Partners for the Agency Work Sector is coming to a close! On 25 June, the World Employment Confederation-Europe and UNI Europa will hold a conference to discuss the main project outcomes, reflect on workshop conclusions, present learning resources and adopt joint recommendations.

Sectoral Social Dialogue and collective bargaining have long been a central component of the Social Market Economy in Europe and a clear priority for the European Commission. Recent economic and labour market challenges reaffirmed the importance of sectoral social partners in developing innovative solutions to help companies and workers adapt to change. At the same time, the role and capacity of social partners, both employers’ organisations and trade unions, vary considerably between countries, sectors and regions in Europe. That’s why WEC-Europe and UNI Europa chose this theme for their joint project under the framework of their 2021-2023 work programme.

Identifying “exportable” good practices

Funded by the EU, the project aims to enhance the social dialogue capacity of national social partners and explore the transferability of good practices in the areas of social protection, working conditions, training, and appropriate regulation. Seminars were organised to enable the exchange and discussion of good practices, focusing on Southern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. The first workshop was organised in Milan, Italy, in June 2024. Twenty-four trade union and employer representatives from the sector across Europe exchanged best practices in terms of hiring, up- and re-skilling, particularly among youth, people over 55 years of age, and refugees or asylum seekers. For the second workshop organised in Warsaw, Poland, in February 2025, the focus was on working conditions and social protection and on learning from innovative approaches in different countries. Discussions also looked at the transferability of these initiatives and into the drivers and aims of new regulatory interventions.

The project’s concrete outcomes will be practical guidance for employers and trade unions, including approaches, tools and methods for strengthening the capacity of the sectoral social partners. As well as boosting capacity in EU Member States where social dialogue and the agency work sector is in a more developmental stage, the exchanges have provided valuable insights and new reference points for national federations and worker organisations in countries where the agency work industry is established, and social dialogue is firmly embedded.