Social dialogue in the sports sector at EU level

Abstract

The European sectoral social dialogue is rapidly becoming a pillar of European governance. It enables professional relationships to form in Member States, respecting each country’s autonomous rights, in line with the subsidiarity principle. European sectoral social dialogue is created through the initiative of the European social partners, that is, representative groups of employers and employees in the relevant sector. The dialogue materializes through the formation of a sectoral social dialogue committee as an official discussion and negotiation forum. Creating a sectoral social dialogue committee in the sports sector is a difficult process because of the specific characteristics of sport, the involvement of young people, the lack of social dialogue at national level in sport, as well as problems with the representativeness of employers’ and employees’ organizations and sectoral segmentation.