On September 23, CESI held an online debate on trade union involvement in the governance of the EU’s Corona Recovery and Resilience Facility (RFF) and the implementation of its national plans in the Member States.

More specifically, the event aimed to discuss the main aspects of the RRF and the national plans of the Member States, assess their scope in the area of employment and social affairs, and find ways for an effective and encompassing representation and engagement of workers and their representatives in governance processes of the RRF.

To this end, trade union experts and policy makers met online to share their views on issues such as: Which are the key elements of the Recovery and Resilience Facility? Do the recovery programmes reflect a fair proportion between the economic, digital, green and social? Which is the social dimension of the plans? What should European workers and citizens expect from now on and how can they be involved in the designing of the national plans? And what is the role of trade unions in the drafting and implementation of the national plans and how can they ensure the worker-cantered character of the plans?

Maria Teresa Fabregas Fernandez, Director of the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Task Force, following a presentation of the state of play of the execution of the RRF, exchanged with CESI members in depth to find ways for a more inclusive governance of the RRF and better opportunities for participation especially of smaller and independent trade union organisations in the implementation of the RRF and the national plans.

Roberto Di Maulo, Secretary General of the Italian Confsal-Fismic trade union and Vice-President of CESI, described the Italian national plan in detail and shared his thoughts on how the reforms can benefit Italy recover from the Covid pandemic. He also explained the role of Italian trade unions like Confsal-Fismic in the development of the national plan strategy, noting that some participation was possible.

In the same vein, Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI, praised the role of trade unions and worker representatives in RRF governance processes and focused on the need to give an even reinforced voice to those who have been hit most by the Corona crisis. It was noted that workers and their representatives were generally heard in the RRF development processes but this to varying degrees at the national levels: Some Member States were front-runners while others only had only allowed relatively little participation in the preparation of their national plans – A task for change for policy makers, institutions and authorities during the execution phase.

CESI plans to hold further debates on the RRF in December in the framework of its ‘Winter Days’ event with a view to evaluating in greater detail its perspectives for citizens and workers.