Representativeness of the European social partner organisations : tanning and leather sector

The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the relevant national and supranational social actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the tanning and leather sector, and to show the association of national actors with the sector's European interest organisations for both workers and employers. The impetus for this study, and for similar studies in other sectors, arises from the aim of the European Commission to identify the representative social partner organisations that are to be consulted under the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and that are eligible to participate in European sectoral social dialogue committees (ESSDCs). The report is divided into five parts: an introduction; a first chapter, giving an overview of the economic specificities and employment trends in the tanning and leather sector; a second chapter, providing an analysis of the social partner organisations in the 23 EU Member States in which tanning and leather activities are recorded (EU-23); a third chapter, analysing the representativeness of the relevant European organisations, in particular their membership composition and capacity to negotiate; and a conclusion. No significant tanning and leather-manufacturing activities were found to be conducted in Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg or Malta; therefore, these Member States are not covered in the report. The following sections present the objectives of the study, along with a brief introduction to European social dialogue in the tanning and leather sector, and a brief introduction to the chosen methodology.