A ideologia neoliberal se manifestou predominante, após a crise vivenciada a partir do fim da década de 70, com a defesa da necessidade de diminuição do aparato estatal e a ampliação da liberdade dos agentes econômicos, o que interferiu no modelo de democracia vigente. Sob a perspectiva dessa ideologia, o modelo de democracia então hegemônico se viu reforçado, dando-se prevalência ao sistema representativo, bem como se sedimentando a questão puramente procedimental, vinculada apenas ao sufrágio universal e despida da perspectiva moral de alteração da sociedade. Isso acabou aumentando a desigualdade e fortalecendo a influência do mercado e agentes externos sobre as políticas públicas. Com isso, a democracia se viu afetada com o crescimento da apatia social e dos questionamentos quanto à política, já que a alternância de projetos não existe. Como forma de mitigar esses problemas, a ampliação da participação social seria o instrumento, sendo isso defendido inclusive por agências multilaterais, como a OIT, ao trazer o diálogo social como um de seus objetivos estratégicos. Ele seria utilizado para ampliar a discussão a respeito das políticas econômicas e sociais, permitindo a construção de soluções alternativas e concertadas. Dentro desse contexto de dominação da ideologia neoliberal, viu-se a criação de Conselhos Econômicos e Sociais na Espanha, em Portugal e no Brasil. Na Espanha e em Portugal, a criação ocorreu em um momento em que eram necessárias grandes reformas para adequação desses países aos ditames da União Europeia, mormente em razão da premente unificação monetária. No Brasil, a criação foi apresentada como um instrumento para fazer frente àquele predomínio ideológico, tendo sido assentada, como uma de suas funções, a construção de um novo pacto social. Levando em conta essa realidade vivenciada, o presente estudo objetiva analisar se o diálogo social institucionalizado nos Conselhos Econômicos e Sociais desses países realmente serviu de instrumento para uma maior participação social e para a criação de alternativas concertadas para o desenvolvimento econômico e social. A hipótese a ser trabalhada é que a prática dos Conselhos na Espanha, em Portugal e no Brasil é parecida, no sentido de dar legitimidade às políticas econômicas e sociais ou ao governo, apesar de o discurso de criação ser distinto. Para possibilitar esse estudo, o segundo capítulo traz a vinculação da democracia ao capitalismo, principalmente no período de dominação ideológica do neoliberalismo. O terceiro capítulo faz um apanhado histórico a partir do processo de redemocratização até a criação dos Conselhos. No quarto, são apresentadas as características institucionais e a evolução do diálogo social com a criação dos Conselhos. Para apresentar essa evolução, foram utilizados artigos a respeito do diálogo social naqueles países e documentações primárias fornecidas por cada um dos Conselhos, sendo utilizados os pareceres feitos pelo pleno dos Conselhos da Espanha e de Portugal e as atas e discursos das reuniões ordinárias do Conselho do Brasil. No quinto capítulo, são apontados problemas vistos no processo de participação social institucionalizada. Para, na sequência, ser apresentada a conclusão de que a institucionalização do diálogo social não serviu para a pensada ampliação democrática. / The neoliberal ideology has manifested prevalent after the crisis experienced from the end of the 70’s, with its defense of the need to reduce the state apparatus and of the expansion of freedom of the economic agents, which interfered in the model of the democracy. From the perspective of this ideology, the hegemonic model of democracy was reinforced, giving prevalence to the representative system, as well as consolidating the purely procedural matter, linked only to the universal suffrage and without the moral perspective of change in society. This has increased inequality and strengthened the influence of the market and external stakeholders on public policy. Therefore, democracy was affected with the growth of social apathy and questions about the politic, since the alternation of projects does not exist. In order to mitigate these problems, increasing social participation would be the instrument and this was defended even by multilateral agencies such as the ILO, to bring social dialogue as one of its strategic objectives. The social dialogue would be used to broaden the discussion of economic and social policies, enabling the construction of alternatives and concerted solutions. Within this context of domination of neoliberal ideology, it has been seen the creation of Economic and Social Councils in Spain, Portugal and Brazil. In Spain and Portugal, the creation occurred at a time when they were needed to do major reforms to adapt these countries to the dictates of the European Union, especially given the proximity of the monetary union. In Brazil, the creation was presented as a tool to counter to that ideological predominance and it was placed, as one of its functions, the construction of a new social pact. Considering this reality, the study aims to analyze if the social dialogue institutionalized in the Economic and Social Councils of these countries actually served as an instrument for a greater social participation and for the creation of concerted alternatives for economic and social development. The hypothesis to be worked is that the practice of these Councils in Spain, Portugal and Brazil is similar, in order to give legitimacy to economic and social policies or the government, despite the difference of speech in their creation. To enable this study, the second chapter provides the linkage of democracy to capitalism, especially during the period of ideological domination of neoliberalism. The third chapter makes a historical overview from the democratization process until the creation of the Councils. In the fourth, the institutional characteristics and evolution of the social dialogue with the creation of the Councils are showed. To display this evolution, it was used articles about the social dialogue in those countries and primary documentation provided by each of the Councils, that being the opinions made by the plenary of the Councils of Spain and Portugal and the minutes and speeches of the regular meetings of the Council of Brazil. In the fifth chapter, it is singled out problems seen in the process of the institutionalized social participation. After that, it is presented the conclusion that the institutionalization of social dialogue was not used to the democratic expansion as thought.

SOCIALINIO DIALOGO IR SOCIALINĖS PARTNERYSTĖS VAIDMUO PSICHIKOS SVEIKATOS PRIEŽIŪROS SISTEMOJE. Santrauka. Informacijos visuomenėje, keičiantis visuomeniniams, technologiniams procesams, socialinio dialogo ir socialinės partnerystės vaidmuo didėja visose srityse. Tai ypač aktualu psichikos sveikatos priežiūros srityje, nes visa sistema praranda autonomiškumą ir yra veikiama įvairaus lygio sąveikų, integruojami daugialypiai socialiniai santykiai. Socialinis dialogas ir socialinė partnerystė apima bendradarbiavimą, koordinavimą, konsultavimą, tarpininkavimą, apsikeitimą informacija, teikiant psichikos sveikatos priežiūros paslaugas. Socialinio dialogo ir socialinės partnerystės svarba išryškėjo prasidėjus struktūriniams pokyčiams psichikos sveikatos srityje, nes reformos apima daugiasektorinę politiką, į kurią įtraukiamas platus partnerių ir suinteresuotųjų ratas. Prastas bendradarbiavimas ir koordinavimas tarp teikiamų paslaugų ar skirtingų sektorių finansavimas veda prie prastos ir neefektyvios priežiūros. Tyrimo tezė. Socialinis dialogas ir socialinė partnerystė tampa sudėtine šiuolainės visuomenės dalimi, keičiasi psichikos sveikatos priežiūros problemų sprendimo būdai, įtraukiami nauji metodai ir naujos pagalbos teikimo fomos, tokios kaip socialinių partnerių tinklai, tarpdisciplininis komandinis darbas, stiprinama nevyriausybinių organizacijų ir pačių paslaugų vartotojų bei jų šeimų organizacijų įtaka. Raktažodžiai: socialinis dialogas, socialinė partnerystė, socialinių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / THE ROLE OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. Summary. With changes in societal and technical processes, the role of Social dialogue and social partnership in the Information society, have increased in all areas. This issue is crucial while talking about mental health care system. System is loosing its autonomy and is determined by interactions of different levels. Multiple social relations are integrated. Social dialogue in mental health care services include all types of negotiation, coordination, mediation and consultation, starting with the exchange of information. Social dialogue has proved particularly important in situations of structural change and reform in the health sector. Such situations are particularly complex, however, and take a long time to evolve. They involve a wide variety of social partners and stakeholders who have to deal with a long agenda of issues. Insufficient or bad cooperation and coordination between services; single-sector approaches and specific organizational objectives, budgets and activities, leads to ineffective and low quality care services. Thesis. Social dialogue and social partnership becomes a component of modern society. The problems of the mental health care system are solving by using new methods and forms, such as networks of social partners, interdisciplinary team work, capacity-building of NGO and representatives of services users and their families. Keywords. Social dialogue, social... [to full text]

Les relations internationales ont mis en évidence le rôle intégrateur du dialogue politique dans la promotion des objectifs, des intérêts nationaux, des engagements et des perceptions de l'État, et des organisations non gouvernementales. Les études consacrées à la relation entre l'UE et le Mexique concluent à une véritable transformation de la relation politique en raison de la signature de l'Accord global. Dès les premières années, les analyses se sont attachées à décrire les perceptions des négociations, le règlement ainsi que la perspective qui a complété les nouvelles composantes de la relation: le dialogue politique et la coopération. D'une façon générale, l'opinion commune semble faciliter le dialogue et les différentes propositions qui définissent la coopération, malgré l'ambiguïté de la situation qui résulte de la complexité de la communication entre les partenaires. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'analyser les interactions au sein du dialogue politique destiné à un approfondissement de la relation bilatérale, mais aussi d'analyser les éléments qui le composent et les formes de dialogue constituées par les autorités mexicaines et européennes. Deuxièmement, étant donné la nécessité de maintenir un programme commun bilatéral, il est important de réviser la coopération. Pour le cas de l'Allemagne et le Mexique, l'étude vise à présenter les effets de la relation dans des termes différents. Autrement dit, il y a de nouvelles formes de collaborations distinguées par l'action consensuelle afin de bénéficier d'une participation plus large. A ce processus il faut ajouter d'autres organisations non gouvernementales liées aux différents niveaux de gouvernement et des institutions qui mettent en évidence l'action des communautés épistémiques transnationales à travers les coalitions et les réseaux qui apparaissent entre les acteurs. / International relations have highlighted the integrating role of political dialogue in promoting objectives of national interests, commitments and perceptions of the State, and non-governmental organizations. Studies on the relationship between the EU and Mexico have established that there has been a genuine transformation of the political relationship because of the signing of the Global Agreement. From the early years, those studies focused on describing the perceptions of negotiation, the legal-normative framework, and the perspective that has complemented the new features of the relationship: namely, political dialogue and cooperation. In general, the common opinion seems to facilitate dialogue and different proposals that define cooperation, despite the ambiguity of the situation resulting from the complexity of communication between partners. The objective of this research is to analyze the interactions within the political dialogue aimed at deepening the bilateral relationship but also to analyze its components and forms of dialogue established by the Mexican and European authorities. Second, given the need for maintaining a joint bilateral agreement, it is important to review the nature of cooperation. This study highlights the special case of collaboration between Germany and Mexico, with the aim of presenting the effects of the relationship in different terms. In other words, there are new forms of collaboration distinguished by consensual action in order to benefit from wider participation. In this process one cannot leave out non-governmental organizations that have ties with different levels of government and institutions, which highlights the activities of transnational epistemic communities through coalitions and networks that emerge between the actors.

Submitted by Márcio Maia (marciokjmaia@gmail.com) on 2016-08-26T00:01:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1075692 bytes, checksum: e3eb631e44e4ffee1440da294f7a9c83 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-26T00:01:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1075692 bytes, checksum: e3eb631e44e4ffee1440da294f7a9c83 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-30 / In the process of consolidation of democracy, many channels have emerged in other to establish a culture of participation of the civil society into management and awareness towards decisions taken about public policy, and among these channels, we may call attention to the Public Policy Management Councils. The presence of these councils points out to a perspective of democracy which cannot be thought without the direct participation of society, leading, in this sense, to the social policies as an action that represents far more than government, public action is expressed as a result of the meeting of the governmental sphere of civil society. It is in this field that the present research is based on, which objective is to demonstrate the educative process that is aligned to the Management Councils, identifying that the social dialogue, established in these Councils, cannot be possible without a process of collective learning. In this sense, the study focused on the Management Councils of Public Policy for Employment, Labor and Income, trying to identify the operation of the elements of this educational process, from the speeches of members, the State Councils of Labor of Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, the Municipal Employment Salvador, and Minutes of the Council of State of Alagoas. The process of research showed us that, while these show councils, in practice, the possibility of a State which meeting from Civil Society and Government, as Gramsci understood, also shows evidence of a perspective State that reveals itself in an educational process of learning arising from this meeting, a State focused on education. / No processo de consolidação da democracia, vários canais têm surgido no sentido do estabelecimento de uma cultura de participação da sociedade civil na gestão e na tomada de decisão acerca das políticas públicas, e dentre esses canais, poderemos citar os Conselhos Gestores de Políticas Públicas. A presença desses Conselhos demarca uma perspectiva de democracia que não pode ser pensada sem a participação direta da sociedade, apontando assim para as políticas sociais, como uma ação que, muito mais do que governamental, se traduz enquanto ação pública, resultado do encontro da esfera governamental com a esfera da sociedade civil. É neste universo que se estrutura o presente estudo, o qual objetivou demonstrar o processo educativo que perpassa aos Conselhos Gestores, identificando que o Diálogo Social, estabelecido nesses conselhos, não pode prescindir de um processo de aprendizagem coletiva. Nesse sentido, o estudo então focalizou os Conselhos Gestores da Política Pública de Emprego, Trabalho e Renda, procurando identificar no funcionamento dos mesmos, os elementos que compõem esse processo educativo, a partir das falas de conselheiros, dos Conselhos Estaduais do Trabalho de Alagoas, Sergipe e Bahia, da Comissão Municipal de Emprego de Salvador, e das Atas do Conselho Estadual de Alagoas. O processo de investigação nos mostrou que, ao mesmo tempo em que esses Conselhos demonstram, de forma concreta, a possibilidade de um Estado que se constitui a partir do encontro da Sociedade Civil e do Governo, como entendia Gramsci, também apresentam indícios de uma perspectiva de Estado se revela num processo educativo de aprendizagens oriundas desse encontro, um Estado Educador.

Ce travail de thèse s’appuie fortement sur le concept de « transformation normative du social et de l’intime », transformations induites par les évolutions de l’environnement économique et social vers une exacerbation de l’individualisme renvoyant d’une part aux cadres sociaux et idéologiques et d’autre part aux psychisme des individus souvent mis en difficulté par cette tourmente transformationnelle. Face à cet environnement en transformation rapide, cette thèse relate, à partir d’un cas d’entreprise, l’utilisation du « marketing de combat » dans le domaine social et considère la fragilité et la gestion du rythme optimal de la dynamique apprenante d’un processus de changement. De l’étude de ce cas est déduite l’importance que peut revêtir la médiation sociocognitive. S’y ajoute une tentative de modélisation des résultats concernant le jeu des interactions et rétroactions relatives aux multiples voies du devenir de la liberté individuelle générée par le difficile processus de subjectivation. Le nécessaire développement de la médiation sociocognitive intra-entreprise ou inter-entreprises est requis pour résoudre (purger) les conflits interpersonnels et déployer l’altérité. / This thesis relies heavily on the concept of "normative transformation of both innermost and social being ", transformations induced by changes in the economic and social environment to an exacerbation of individualism on the one hand referring to executives social and ideological and partly to the psyche of individuals often challenged by the turmoil transformational. Faced with this rapidly changing environment, this thesis describes, from a business case, the use of "marketing war" in the social sphere and considers the fragility and managing the optimal pace of learning the dynamics of a process of change. From the study of this research-action is deduced the potential importance of social cognitive mediation. An attempt to model the results concerning the interplay of interactions and feedbacks on multiple pathways of the future of individual freedom generated by the difficult process of subjectivation is added. The necessary development of sociocognitive mediation intra-company or inter-company is required to solve (purge) interpersonal conflicts and deploy otherness.

Les risques psychosociaux sont reconnus comme un des problèmes majeurs du monde professionnel contemporain et le dialogue social européen a inscrit la lutte contre le premier d’entre eux, la pandémie du stress au travail, comme une priorité. Dans ce contexte le lien entre les techniques de l’information et de la communication (TIC) qui innervent les entreprises comme la société et les risques psychosociaux n’est pas formellement établi. On continue de poser le travailleur d’un côté et ses outils de l’autre comme si ces derniers étaient de simples instruments passifs au service des premiers, comme s’il était nécessaire et suffisant que l’homme soit formé au mode d’emploi pour les utiliser. Une enquête statistique nationale, des focus groups, des entretiens qualitatifs et des observations participantes démontrent que l’absence de prise de conscience de l’écosystème numérique de travail tertiaire a pour conséquence une ignorance de ses effets indésirables qui sont aussi puissants que nombreux. Cette lacune entraîne une maîtrise largement défaillante par les acteurs et les organisations professionnelles. / Psychosocial risks are recognized as one of the major problems of the contemporary professional world and the European social dialogue has took on the fight against the first of them, the pandemic of work-related stress, as a priority. In this context the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) that innervates companies as well as society and psychosocial risks is not formally established. One continues to consider worker on one side and tools on the other side as if they were mere passive instruments to support men at work, as if it was necessary and sufficient to be formed in the instruction for their use. A national statistical survey, focus groups, qualitative interviews and participant observations show that the lack of awareness of the digital ecosystem of tertiary workplaces has resulted in ignorance of the adverse effects that are as powerful as many. This gap leads to widespread control deficiencies in workers and professional organizations.

Au moment où le dialogue social européen fête les vingt ans de sa reconnaissance institutionnelle par le Traité de Maastricht, il est pertinent d’analyser le rôle des partenaires sociaux européens dans la régulation de l’emploi, alors que cette dernière connait d’importantes transformations au sein de l’UE. Partant du constat que le marché du travail européen acquiert une consistance propre qui le distingue d’une addition d’espaces nationaux, nous montrons que cette construction ne dérive pas mécaniquement de l’intégration économique du marché des produits mais résulte en partie de l’intervention des partenaires sociaux européens dans la régulation communautaire de l’emploi et des interactions qu’ils nouent avec les autres parties prenantes dont, au premier plan, la Commission européenne. L’expérimentation de nouvelles formes de régulation permet de conforter la légitimité des partenaires sociaux européens en élargissant leur champ d’intervention et en les maintenant dans le circuit de la régulation communautaire alors que d’autres acteurs (société civile organisée, groupes d’experts) auraient pu les en écarter. Cependant, le changement de paradigme de l’emploi, au nom de la « modernisation du marché du travail », les conduit à délibérer sur des objets plus généraux (« plus d’emploi et de meilleure qualité », « marchés du travail inclusifs »), au détriment d’une opérationnalité qui leur fait d’autant plus défaut que le manque d’approfondissement de la régulation de la relation d'emploi entrouvre la porte à des cas de dumping social. Dès lors, plus que les nouvelles formes de régulation, ce sont les déplacements de l’objet de la régulation qui mettent à l’épreuve la portée du dialogue social européen. / When the European social dialogue is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its institutional recognition in the Maastricht Treaty, analysing the role of the European social partners in the employment regulation which now facing significant changes within the EU is of peculiar relevance. Our study establishes that the making of the European labour market differs from an addition of national scales. We demonstrate that this construction is not mechanically induced by the goods market integration but partly results from the European social partners’ involvement in the Community employment regulation and from their interactions with the other stakeholders, mainly the European commission. Experimenting new forms of regulation reinforces the European social partners’ legitimacy. It widens their scope of intervention and maintains them in the Community regulation process whereas other players (civil society, groups of experts) could have drawn them aside. In However, because of the evolution of the employment paradigm on behalf of the “modernization of the labour market”, the European social partners now deliberate on more general terms (“more and better jobs”, “inclusive labour markets”) at the expense of operability. This limited operability is all the more problematic as the lack of deepening in the regulation of the employment relationship opens the door to cases of social dumping. Therefore, the impact of European social dialogue is more tested by the evolutions of the subject of regulation than by the new forms of regulation.

There are three starting points for this thesis. First, there is the system of ESD, which is criticised for lacking capacity to improve the working conditions within the EU. Secondly, there is the system developed through the global ITF FOC campaign, which is considered to have capacity to improve working conditions for seafarers at a global level. Thirdly, there is the theory on self-referential autopoietic systems, which is a useful tool for analysing systems of industrial relations and their functions. The purpose of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of the function of the ESD in relation to the development of EU legislation and policy with the aim of trying to find a model for providing a holistic analysis of regulatory systems for the labour market. The research questions are: ‘How can the significant differences and similarities between the ESD and the global ITF FOC campaign be understood?’ and ‘Why is the ESD generally regarded as lacking the capacity needed for producing results that improve working conditions, while the ITF FOC is considered to have such capacity?’ The theoretical framework used for the analysis is Luhmann’s theory on autopoietic systems. Since the thesis has a normative core I have applied a methodological model that consists of a two-layer analysis at both the empirical and theoretical level. Firstly an analysis of positivistic values has been carried out and secondly an analysis of hermeneutic values. The empirical material consists of documents and texts that can be considered part of or reflecting the communication of the studied systems. The main conclusion is that whereas the ITF FOC system is a traditional system of industrial relations based on the binary code of negotiable or non-negotiable between collective actors the ESD is a system of industrial relations based on a less clear binary code of discussable or non-discussable. The ESD is also subject to less developed communicative structures that negatively affect the system’s capacity both to produce results and to secure the efficient implementation and application of these results. This makes the ESD as a system more sensitive to hermeneutic values framing the programming of structurally coupled systems causing difficulties for the ESD to challenge such hermeneutic values.

AFRIKAANS : Vakbondverteenwoordigers se rol en invloedsmag het die laaste dekade in die werkplek toegeneem. In hierdie navorsing is daar bepaal watter invloed die vakbondverteenwoordiger op die bestuur van die skool het. Die menings van skoolhoofde en vakbondverteenwoordigers in dieselfde skool is getoets. Deur middel van kwalitatiewe navorsing is 'n groep skoolhoofde, wat die bestuurspan van hul skole verteenwoordig, se menings verkry oor die invloed van vakbondverteenwoordigers op die bestuur van die skool. Aspekte soos beplanning, aanstellings, stakings en ander bestuurselemente is in die onderhoude ontleed. ʼn Verskeidenheid van reaksies is van die respondente verkry oor die vakbondverteenwoordigers se leierskapsrolle, die verkiesing en opleiding van verteenwoordigers asook hulle rol en funksie as maatskaplike ontwikkelaars. Die menings van vakbondverteenwoordigers by dieselfde skole is ook verkry oor beplanning, aanstellings, stakings en ander bestuurselemente. Die verteenwoordigers van verskeie artikel 21-skole het hulle eie funksies ten opsigte van sosiale dialoog beoordeel. Die inligting van elke skoolhoof en die ooreenstemmende vakbondverteenwoordiger kon met mekaar vergelyk word om die geldigheid en betroubaarheid van die navorsing te bevestig. Die rol en funksie van die vakbondverteenwoordiger oor die wêreld heen het ʼn nuwe kleur begin kry. Waar vakbondverteenwoordigers in die verlede die draers was van inligting vanaf die hoofkantoor, het hul rol verander na dié van sosiale dialoog. Die verteenwoordiger bevind hom/haar in die rol van bestuurder, beplanner en leier. Hierdie rol van die vakbondverteenwoordiger beïnvloed die bestuur van die skool. Die vakbondverteenwoordiger se invloed kan tweeledig opgesom word: hy/sy kan die stimuleerder wees, wat die bestuur van die skool help om doelwitte te bereik, of die verteenwoordiger kan die inhibeerder wees wat die bestuur van die skool rem. By die Internasionale Arbeidskongres in Lima, Peru, in 2006 is die nuwe era en rigting van die vakbondverteenwoordiger deur verskeie bekende arbeidskonsultante uitgewys. Van die aspekte, soos om deel te word van bestuur en sosiale dialoog, is aan die orde van dié era. Die vakbondverteenwoordiger het invloed op die bestuur van die skool en kan die sosiale dialoog van mede-personeel, ouers en leerders beïnvloed. ENGLISH : The role and extent of the influence of shop stewards in the workplace has increased over the past decade. This research study has attempted to determine what influence is exercised over a school’s management by the Shop steward. The opinions of the heads of schools and those of the shop stewards at the same schools were surveyed. By means of qualitative research methods, the opinions of a group of headmasters representing the management teams of their schools were obtained in regard to the influence of shop stewards on the school. Aspects such as planning, appointments, strikes and other management elements were analysed in interviews. Diverse opinions were expressed by the respondents about the leadership roles of the shop stewards, the election and training of representatives and their role and function as social developers. The shop stewards at the same schools were also asked for their views about planning, appointments, strikes and other elements of management. The representatives of several Section 21 schools evaluated their own functions in respect of social dialogue. Information obtained from each headmaster and their respective shop stewards could be compared to confirm the validity and trustworthiness of the research. The roles and functions of shop stewards are changing all over the world. Where shop stewards were formerly transmitters of information received from head office, their role has evolved into one of social dialogue. The shop steward now finds him-/herself in the role of manager, planner and leader. The shop steward’s role affects the management of the school. This influence is twofold: he/she can be a stimulator, helping the school’s management to achieve objectives, or an inhibitor who has a retardant effect on the school’s management. At the International Labour Congress in Lima, Peru, in 2006, the new era and direction of the shop steward were highlighted by several eminent consultants. Aspects such as active participation in management and social dialogue are predominant in this era. The shop steward influences the management of the school and can affect the social dialogue of fellow staff members, parents and learners. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

This thesis investigated the influence imbalance between worker’s and employer’s interest in the EU policymaking. It is assumed that worker’s interests are disadvantaged, and this study is therefore examining the consultation of social partners under article 154 TFEU that considers social policy and can be used as a most-likely case for worker’s influence.The study is conducted by identifying conflicts between ETUC and BusinessEurope in their consultation replies and compare the different opinions with the Commission’s legislative proposal to find out which organisation that succeeded in influencing the Commission within each conflict.The results from this shows that each consultation generated between 0 to 6 conflicts and that most of the conflicts were won by BusinessEurope. This strengthens the assumption that there is an influence imbalance in EU legislation that makes the employer’s organisation BusinessEurope more influential than the trade unions ETUC.