Mușat & Asociații organized a new conference on April 6, 2023, with the theme "Social Dialogue - news, opportunities and controversies", dedicated to debates about the new Social Dialogue Law ("Law 367/2022").

The subjects brought to the attention of the participants focused on two topics of substantial interest and topicality in the field of labor law, namely "Negotiation, consultation and information in the new social dialogue" and "Labor conflicts - impasse or reconciliation?".

The presentations and debates at the conference were supported by the Employment Law Team from Mușat & Asociații and were moderated by Mihai Popa – Deputy Managing Partner and Head of the Employment Law Department at Mușat & Asociații, together with the lecturers Dragoș Lungu- Managing Associate and Simona Anton – Managing Associate.

Mușat & Asociații team was joined in the discussion by representatives of employers, of trade unions, but also by the ones of the authorities with direct attributions in the application of social dialogue legislation. Mr. Radu Burnete, Executive Director and Mrs. Adelina Dabu, Director of Public Affairs on behalf of the Confederation of Employers "Concordia", Mr. Bogdan Iuliu Hossu, President of the CNS "Cartel Alfa", together with representatives from the Labor Inspectorate, were among the experts invited to this event.

During the conference, the importance of social dialogue as a subject on national and European agenda, as well as on the one of International Labor Organization, was analyzed, together with the changes brought by the new Law on Social Dialogue with respect to various legal institutions of this essential matter.

The discussions regarding the social partners addressed, among other aspects, the representativeness of trade union and employer organizations at the activity sector level, at the unit group level, as well as at the unit level, from the perspective of the new aspects of the legislation recently entered into force, especially given the decrease of representativeness thresholds, but also the power offered to trade unions and trade union organizations in the new context.

The experts participating in the event debated together with the guests and Mușat & Asociații team the impact of decreasing the representativeness thresholds, as well as the concerns from the perspective of the social partners and of the authorities on the issue of a real social dialogue.

It was discussed that the decreasing of the representativeness threshold at unit level does not solve the problem of social dialogue, respectively that an employer is determined to negotiate to ensure social peace (without strikes), in the conditions where, as regards the object of the negotiation, the unions have nothing to negotiate except the salary, in the context of the density of labor legislation that covers most of the subjects that could be of interest for a collective negotiation.

The topic of employees’ representatives gave the participants the opportunity to analyze the new provisions and their impact on employees and employers, from the perspective of the initiative group's role in this procedure, as well as the number of representatives that must be admitted by the employer at unit level.

The new coordinates in collective bargaining, the re-introduction of the collective labor contract at national level, the novelties brought in the matter of the obligations of information and consultation between the social partners, the expansion of the cases in which a collective labor conflict can be triggered, the introduction of the strike against the economic and social policies of the Government are just some of the aspects that caught the attention of the participants.

The event offered lecturers and experts the chance to clarify and debate the implementation directions of the lacunae provisions in the matter of individual labor conflicts, given the removal from the current legal act of the special material jurisdiction of the tribunal for judging this type of conflicts.

Also, during the conference, other worrying issues caused by the errors crept into the current form of the Social Dialogue Law were debated, the representatives of the Labor Inspectorate, together with those of Concordia and CNS "Cartel Alfa" justifying the need to adopt a new normative act for the correction certain dysfunctions arising from the speed with which the law was adopted in Parliament.

The event was marked by the presence of outstanding guests from companies with a significant impact on the Labor Market, active in the fields of IT, pharma, transport, real estate, trade, etc.

"We are delighted that the representatives of the most important companies in the Romanian and international industry received with great interest and enthusiasm the invitation to the event organized by us in the field of labor law. At the same time, we look with great honor and gratitude to have with us every time outstanding personalities from among the specialists in the field, and their contribution, in the context of the controversies brought by the new social dialogue law, leads us to continue our tradition and improve the event from one edition to another", declares Mihai Popa - Deputy Managing Partner and Head of the Department of Employment Law and Employee Benefits within Mușat & Asociații.