The organisations that will constitute the new committee will be the Federation of European of Social Employers (FESE) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) on the employer side and on the employee side the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), UNI Europa and CESI, the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions.

The set-up of the committee by the European Commission follows a study of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) which had formally established the representativeness of FESE, CEMR, EPSU, UNI Europa and CESI in the sector – and a formal letter that was addressed to CESI by the European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit confirming the representativeness of CESI as a European social partner organisation.

A constitutive meeting of the committee is planned to take place still before Christmas 2023; this meeting will seek to adopt Rules of Procedure and a Work Programme for the committee.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “I thank Commissioner Nicolas Schmit and his team for the efforts to set up this committee in an inclusive way, together with all representative interested actors. Any European social dialogue committee is only as legitimate and meaningful as it is inclusive. We look forward to trustful and constructive cooperation with our partners in the committee, to the benefit of all 9 million workers in the social services sector in Europe. As our populations age and policy making strives towards inclusive and encompassing early childhood and education and care, the workers in the sector deserve a functioning social dialogue at European level. It will be key to combine decent working conditions and thriving service provision.”

Next to the new committee on social services, CESI is already involved – directly or through its members – in the EU sectoral social dialogue committees on central government administrations, local and regional governments, postal services, education, and civil aviation.