On 11 March, Ceemet and industriAll Europe held another round of social dialogue focusing on Competitiveness and Employment in the Metal, Engineering and Technology-based sectors.
Clean Industrial Deal
Maurits Pino, Policy Officer from DG GROW, kicked off the session with a short briefing on the Clean Industrial Deal and its implications on the social and employment policies. Ceemet Director General Delphine Rudelli raised concerns about the approach to linking social conditionality with industrial policy. While acknowledging the rationale behind promoting social standards, she questioned how adding more social conditionality would support Europe’s goal of reindustrialisation. She pointed out that the concept remains vague and open to interpretation, making it difficult to forecast the form of its implementation.
Delphine Rudelli also warned that pushing for mandatory social dialogue as a condition for accessing EU funds could inadvertently exclude smaller companies and regions with less developed social dialogue structures. This approach, she argued, risks creating barriers rather than fostering inclusive growth and industrial competitiveness across Europe. Mandatory social dialogue is also in breach of social partner autonomy.
A Quality Jobs Roadmap, developed with the social partners
In the second part of the dialogue, Maria Luisa Cabral, Director for Working Conditions and Social Dialogue at DG EMPL, presented the Commission vision for the Quality Jobs Roadmap and Social Dialogue pact.
Ms Cabral expressed her openness to working with social partners from all sectors to develop a Quality Jobs Roadmap, which will be announced later in the year with clear actions. She mentioned that the Commission has no intention of defining the concept of “quality jobs” but aims to improve the quality of jobs through the introduction of new tools.
Ceemet welcomes the Social Dialogue Pact
Ceemet welcomed the Social Dialogue Pact signed last week by the Commission and the European cross-industry social partners. We are ready to contribute to strengthening social dialogue at both national and EU levels. As social partners, our engagement is crucial in shaping policies that impact EU’s labour markets. We particularly welcome the commitment to exchange with social partners on their priorities ahead of the European Commission’s Work Programme. This is a vital step toward more inclusive and effective policymaking.
Furthermore, we strongly support consulting social partners on policy initiatives when they significantly affect the labour market. Ceemet has long advocated for involving social partners in areas beyond the world of work — because today, all policies are interconnected. Environmental and industrial policies, for example, have a major impact on companies and workers alike. Consulting social partners ensures these policies are designed and deployed with all relevant perspectives in mind.
Maria Luisa Cabral from DG EMPL mentioned that the Pact is about preconditions for a fruitful social dialogue. Ms Cabral also explained that the pact has two main lines: reaffirming and explaining the role that social dialogue has in Europe’s unique social market economy and putting forward a number of commitments from the Commission.
Omnibus simplification package
In the afternoon session, discussions on the Omnibus simplification package highlighted both its potential and its shortcomings. Ceemet Director General Delphine Rudelli welcomed the package as a step toward easing regulatory burdens but made it clear that it could go much further. She warned that while some companies may choose to engage in detailed reporting under the CSRD and CSDDD, these practices should not be imposed uniformly—especially on SMEs. Excessive and overlapping reporting requirements cost businesses hundreds of thousands of euros without guaranteeing significant impact, and European companies working with suppliers in countries with looser standards risk getting stuck in administrative deadlock, undermining their productivity and competitiveness.
Mrs Rudelli also stressed that many companies had embraced responsible practices long before any legislative mandates, making much of the new oversight feel redundant. Nevertheless, Ceemet recognises the importance of a consistent and simplified regulatory framework across the EU to enable smooth collaboration across member states. Ensuring harmonised rules is crucial for the proper functioning of the single market, preventing companies from being weighed down by fragmented national requirements.