CAMS
CAMS brings together social partners, public authorities and industrial relations experts to evaluate the evolution of conciliation, arbitration and mediation services in Europe against the background of changing patterns of individual and collective conflicts at work. Valdés Dal-Ré (2003) and his colleagues provided an excellent review of the legal frameworks for such services within the EU15 around 2000-02.
CAMS builds on this work by situating the legal provisions within the changing contexts of conflict at work over the last 15 years in France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and the UK. It aims to increase understanding about how the roles of extra-judicial dispute resolution procedures supported by the state or social partners are adapting to these new contexts and contributing to the social dialogue process.
Its three principal objectives are to:
(1) Promote knowledge of European industrial relations practices through considering how in a changing context these ‘extra-judicial’ dispute resolution procedures are continuing to operate as extensions of or alternatives to the processes of social dialogue or grievance resolution at work.
(2) Promote social dialogue among public authorities and the social partners on more effective forms of contribution of conciliation, arbitration and mediation services to dispute resolution.
(3) Create an opportunity for dialogue and exchange between actors in conciliation, arbitration and mediation services from different countries.
The project involves four sets of activities:
(1) Preparatory studies.
In each of the five countries we will write national 20-page reports covering:
a. Recent trends in collective and individual work-based conflict;
b. Recent developments in conciliation, arbitration and mediation service provision;
c. Assessments of outcomes of third party dispute resolution interventions; and
d. Two case studies of current or recent nationally innovative conciliation, arbitration and mediation interventions or activities.
(2) National practitioner and user workshops.
Within each of the five countries we will organise two social partner workshops of public authority agency practitioners, users and industrial relations experts to critically discuss and amend the national reports and to discuss presentations by nationals of one other country, thereby starting the process of exchange of ideas and experience.
(3) International workshops.
Two international workshops will bring together the public authorities involved in conciliation, arbitration and mediation and social partner users from the five countries. Workshop 1: The changing patterns of conflict and conflict resolution and their implications for social dialogue;
Workshop 2: The changing role of state supported conciliation, arbitration and mediation services and their contribution to social dialogue.
(4) Dissemination activities.
1) The project website will be live from January 2009 to December 2011 hosted by London Metropolitan University. It will be in English and in the four other project languages the national reports and case studies, four-page summaries of the findings and recordings of the international workshop presentations;
2) We will propose a special issue of Transfer (journal of the ETUI) on conciliation, arbitration and mediation in Europe to its editorial board;
3) Articles in national union journals and/or on national union websites and in national conciliation agency journals and websites.