Social Dialogue in the Air Traffic Management Sector Under the Scope of a New Project Launched by BCCI

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has begun work on a new project entitled “TRANSFER – Transforming the Air Traffic Management Sector into a Successful Example of Shared Social Dialogue Practices.” The initiative involves nine partners from five European countries. Bulgaria is represented in the project by the Federation of Transport Workers at the Confederation of Labour “Podkrepa”.

The project was officially launched during an online kick-off meeting attended by representatives of partner organizations from Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro.

The lead partner, the Autonomous Federation of Transport Trade Unions in Italy, presented the main goals of the project:

• To transfer best practices in social dialogue developed in the Air Traffic Management (ATM) sector to other civil aviation subsectors, such as aircraft crew and ground handling services. The project also aims to identify, at the national level, the challenges and opportunities for improving social dialogue in these areas.
• To facilitate transnational and European-level exchanges of experience and practices between social partners in civil aviation, with the goal of developing recommendations for the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (ESSDC) dedicated to civil aviation.

The TRANSFER project follows a threefold strategy:

A) Capacity building focused on best practices in social dialogue in the ATM sector and assessing the challenges associated with social dialogue in the air and ground handling sectors in each participating country.

B) Developing recommendations to enhance social dialogue at both the EU and national levels in civil aviation, based on international consultation and the production of a dedicated publication.

C) Conducting consultations with EU-level social partners involved in the ESSDC for Civil Aviation, delivering targeted recommendations, and involving national-level social partners from the transport sector in a dedicated capacity-building session.

TRANSFER engages:

• Trade unions and employer organizations;
• Support and involvement from EU-level social partners;
• Work on key issues and priorities defined within the framework of EU-level social dialogue;
• Contributions to the work of the Civil Aviation Committee;
• Enhancement of the capacity of social partners to achieve effective outcomes in civil aviation social dialogue.

The project has a duration of two years and is co-funded by the European Union. Stay tuned for more updates on specific initiatives under the TRANSFER project.