The commercial live performance sector of Central and Eastern Europe came together on 2 December 2020 to discuss social dialogue and the impact of the pandemic on the sector.
The European Social Partners in live performance – Pearle* on the employers’ side and EAEA (FIM, FIA, and UNI MEI) on the workers’ side – have been working together to map the situation of social dialogue in the commercial live performance sector in five countries: Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, and Serbia. The objective of this work is to see whether social dialogue exists in this sector, whether there are some obstacles to social dialogue, and what could be done to remove those obstacles to establish and strengthen social dialogue. A mapping of the situation was implemented in each project country to this end.
In the regional seminar, national social partners and stakeholders discussed the findings of the research and possible solutions to the issues that had been identified. Moreover, the regional seminar was an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the current pandemic on the sector, which has been significant, and to share experiences and ideas on how the sector can move forward and overcome the current situation. The sector is facing serious financial challenges, but perhaps surprisingly the crisis has also brought on a few positive developments. In some countries the situation has opened a communication between the sector and the government, allowing for discussions on support and financing of the sector. Further, more workers in the sector are aware that instruments to protect their rights exist and that they have the right to social dialogue.
The sector is facing very similar issues across the region, and the participants agreed that regional cooperation and sharing of information will be helpful in securing the future of the sector.
The findings of the national research will be compiled into a final report, which will be presented in a final conference during the course of 2021 and discussed among a wider audience of national and European stakeholders.
