The Association of Employers of Slovenia won the project "Getting Ready for Twin Transition (acronym GROW)" at the tender of the European Commission, the purpose of which is to strengthen the capacity of ZDS as a social partner and to examine the role of social dialogue in the twin transition. The project, which will be implemented from April 1st, 2024 to March 31st, 2026, will contribute to the strengthening of social dialogue in responding to changes as a result of preparations for the challenges of the twin transition and will strengthen the capacities of social partners for more effective cooperation in the formulation and implementation of policies in this area.

BACKGROUND - CHALLENGES
The world of work is undergoing dramatic changes. The macro shift in today’s open economy is global and applies to nearly all industrial sectors. It requires employers and employees to adapt to a new environment where flexibility plays a key role in ensuring competitive advantage. In addition, climate change and environmental degradation are existential threats to Europe and the world. To overcome these challenges, the EU must transform into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy to prepare all EU industry sectors to meet this challenge.

Therefore, the main aim of the “GROW” project is to analyze the role of social dialogue in responding to changes in employment and work-related challenges in the context of the twin transition, taking into account the involvement of national social partners in managing these processes, increasing their contribution to shaping EU policy and promoting capacity-building for national social partners. In this way, the role of social partners will be strengthened in establishing a flexible and competitive economy by investing in human resource development and connecting the economic, educational, research, and employment spheres. The project will enhance the capacities of social partners to carry out social dialogue in a changing work environment and thus support the implementation of the "social rule of law" and address concrete problems and current and upcoming challenges in the labour market.

Since social partners are key actors in addressing labour market challenges, they must be continually strengthened and trained from an institutional perspective to effectively participate in the preparation and implementation of public policy reforms. To achieve this, the project will strengthen the capacities of social partners for comprehensive training of negotiators, who will consider the importance of the twin transition in finding optimal solutions and upgrading existing collective agreements to establish a flexible and competitive economy within the twin transition.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The project will thoroughly assess and analyze the challenges the newly expanded ecosystem will bring in terms of decision-making, consultations, employment changes, the future of work, and labour market modernization. As such, the project will serve as a tool for national and European social partners to exchange practices, knowledge, and experiences. Furthermore, it will act as a catalyst for reviewing measures and preparing a position paper by Central and Eastern European (CEE) employers, as well as a set of positions for negotiators, considering the twin transition and other labour market challenges.

EU and national social partners play an important role in shaping policies and establishing new labour market relationships. Social dialogue is a core value of EU law and one of the key mechanisms for overcoming the labour market crises that we have recently witnessed. Collective agreements are also one of the pillars of quality social dialogue. They cover negotiations at the national or sectoral level as well as support for members of employers’ organizations – companies – in negotiations at the corporate level.

To achieve this and to effectively implement social dialogue, social partners must be professionally strengthened (in terms of skills and capacity) at the national, sectoral, and corporate levels, thereby contributing to adaptation to economic trends, the rapidly changing labour market, ensuring an optimal balance between flexibility and security, and competitiveness of the economy.

The project aims to address identified challenges/gaps in several ways. First, through an analytical phase, the project will examine the current labour market situation and trends related to the twin transition. This will be carried out through theoretical research, a focus group, and a survey among employers. Second, social partners will exchange knowledge and experiences and engage in mutual learning to better understand the twin transition and the role of social dialogue within it. In this way, social partners will be better prepared and equipped to integrate the twin transition into social dialogue and negotiations in collective agreements. Employees at ZDS and national negotiators will also enhance their knowledge and skills to effectively contribute to social dialogue, enable adaptation to changes, and mitigate their impacts. Third, the knowledge gained in previous phases will be compiled into various documents on the role of social partners in the twin transition, which will be promoted and disseminated at the project conference and through other promotional activities (e-library, articles, news/posts across various media channels, etc.).

Based on the identified challenges and needs analysis, the general objectives of the project are as follows:

• To explore and better understand the current situation regarding the challenges in the changing world of work, including the twin transition in the EU and Slovenia.
• To contribute to adapting social dialogue to respond to employment changes and work-related challenges, and to address employment, social, and economic challenges as defined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, thus contributing to strengthening the involvement of national social partners in the European Semester.
• To strengthen the capacities of social partners to contribute to quality negotiations in anticipating and managing changes through the exchange of relevant EU information, practices, and knowledge, as well as the dissemination of results.

PROJECT WORK PACKAGES
The GROW project will address its objectives through four work packages:

• Work Package 1 is dedicated to project management and coordination, ensuring the proper implementation of the project as well as ongoing monitoring and guidance.

• Work Package 2 focuses on the research component of the project. In this work package, we will examine and analyze the challenges social partners face when addressing major trends in the changing world of work in the context of the twin transition to a digital economy and climate neutrality. We will also explore how social partners can help ensure a fair transition to climate neutrality and contribute to shaping the digitalization process. A comprehensive analysis, focus groups, and a survey among companies will provide insights into companies’ responses to current and upcoming labour market changes within the twin transition.

• Work Package 3 will focus on strengthening the capacities of ZDS and social partners through project events, bipartite events, and a negotiation school. In this work package, social partners will exchange knowledge, opinions, and experiences for a better understanding of the twin transition and the role of social dialogue and the contribution of social partners to this transition. We will also build the knowledge and capacities of ZDS staff for effective participation in social dialogue at the national and sectoral level, enabling us to successfully contribute to policy reform, support businesses, and transfer knowledge to them to facilitate company-level social dialogue (considering trends in the changing world of work). At the same time, we will strengthen the knowledge and capacities of national negotiators to effectively contribute to collective bargaining at the sectoral level while considering trends in the changing world of work and the twin transition.
• Work Package 4 will be dedicated to the dissemination of project results and the implementation of the project conference. The project will produce a handbook for negotiators, a joint position of CEE countries, and recommendations for negotiators. We will also organize project events to discuss the results of the research and summarize our knowledge and experiences and best practices gained during the project.

PROJECT PARTNERSHIP

• The Employers’ Association of Slovenia, project coordinator
• BUSINESSEUROPE – affiliated partner

Co-funded by the European Union.

Project GROW is co-funded by the European Union, GA: 101145643. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.