Social dialogue for sustainable development and decent work project SDSD

About this project

<p>The overall objective of the project was to strengthen the social dialogue in Bulgaria by building the capacity of two key social partners, one employers' organisation and one trade union. More specifically, the project focused on the role of social partners in the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals &nbsp;(SDG), where Bulgaria is significantly behind in the implementation of these goals and where social partners have a key role to play.&nbsp;</p> <p>This project was a very timely response to important challenges for Bulgaria, since it both responded to a specific need for more knowledge among social partners, but also the need for a more effective social dialogue to meet overall challenges linked to the UN 2030 Agenda. The existing partnership with the Norwegian LO and NHO and their participation in the different activities, provided more knowledge on the different topics addressed and experience from the Norwegian context.&nbsp;</p> <p>The topic is highly relevant for all social partners, and the project also included six branch organisations and six trade unions at sectoral level, which emphasised the importance of including social partners at all levels in the implementation of the SDGs. &nbsp;</p> <p>The following activities were carried out:</p> <ul> <li>Sharing of good practices for achieving sustainable development goals</li> <li>Development of education packages on sustainable development goals and green jobs</li> <li>Trainings of representatives of BIA, CITUB, 6 branch associations and 6 trade unions from the chemical and food processing industry</li> <li>Thematic discussions on management and recovery after a crisis (Covid).</li> <li>Final conference.</li> </ul>

Bilateral cooperation results

The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) implemented this project in partnership with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises (NHO) and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), which are the leading social partner organisations in Norway and Bulgaria. BIA reported that the main learnings from the bilateral cooperation were the transfer of knowledge and experience, helping the Bulgarian social partners to prepare for the transition to a circular economy, particularly the good examples in the food industry, plastic and waste management, and deposit systems.

Project partners

• Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise Donor project partner· Norway
• Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions Donor project partner· Norway
• Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria Project partner· Bulgaria