Talking Ourselves to Death? The Prospects for Social Dialogue in North America—Lessons from Alberta

Abstract

Europe’s model of tripartite “social dialogue” has long been elusive in North America, yet unions continue to look at the model as a possible path toward greater policy influence. Is social dialogue possible in a North American context? Is it in the interests of the North American labor movement? This article examines two cases studies from the Canadian province of Alberta that reveal that a complex decision matrix faces unions considering participation in social dialogue. The necessary structural prerequisites for labor-friendly policy outcomes continue to be absent in North America, but the process may hold some promise in limiting employer initiative, at least in narrow policy fields. Unions also need to consider possible consequences for their capacity to organize and mobilize.

Social Dialogue in Partnerships and Gender Equality: Focus on Garment Industry in Bangladesh

“…Studies found not only different forms of social dialogue but also different processes of exercising dialogue. For instance, most European nations possess a history of strong social dialogue at the national level, having a sophisticated and highly institutionalized form of tripartite decisionmaking process among workers, employers, and the state (Foster 2011). Thus, workers and employers attain a collective decision-making environment.…”

“…Like the USA, in Canada, most decisions come through consensus. Trade unions do not possess enough organizational capacity to become a strong opposition party, and thus it is difficult for unions to pressurize government and employers to introduce any decision (Foster 2011).…”

“…However, Bangladesh has a distinct position than Europe in terms of practicing social dialogue. In most European countries, the partners have strongly utilized social dialogue for many years (Foster 2011). In contrast, Bangladesh has little experience in practicing social dialogue in industrial relations.…”

Fear Factory: Retaliation and Rights Claiming in Alberta, Canada

“…Enforcement activities focused on writing compliance orders (approximately 7,000) with only 12 employers formally charged under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, seven employers receiving an administrative penalty (ranging from Can$2,500 to Can$42,500), and a small number of low-value tickets issued to both employers and workers (Alberta Labour, 2017aLabour, , 2017c. Elsewhere, Foster (2011) and Barnetson (2015) have argued there is evidence of regulator capture by industry, wherein employer groups have acquired a disproportionate influence over the direction of employment regulation and enforcement. Alberta's modest enforcement efforts may help to explain Alberta's high rate of occupational injury (Morassaei et al, 2013).…”

Mecanismos para la promoción del diálogo social en Colombia y la construcción de confianza para una mejor gobernanza: el caso de la Comisión Permanente de Concertación de Políticas Salariales y Laborales

“…(Mac Master y Echavarría, 2019, p. 21) El trabajo decente pretende la materialización del diálogo como herramienta para la construcción de consensos, con escenarios de reunión y encuentros periódicos, integrados por los actores clásicos del tripartismo que identifica a la OIT como la única organización interestatal en la que no solo los representantes de los Mecanismos para la promoción del diálogo social en Colombia y la construcción de confianza para una mejor gobernanza gobiernos de los Estados que la conforman están llamados a tomar las decisiones, sino que trabajadores y empleadores cuentan con un nivel especial de representatividad y peso en todos los escenarios decisorios (OIT, 1919). En su esencia práctica, el diálogo social es un proceso de formulación de políticas que involucra las relaciones laborales, la política económica y la política social (Foster, 2011). En ese desarrollo, la OIT reconoce la existencia de tres niveles de diálogo social, según criterio denominado por Ishikawa (2004) como la representación, determinada de acuerdo con los actores que toman parte en un escenario particular de promoción del diálogo.…”