Enhancing social dialogue mechanism for better policy formulation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

14 February - 15 March 2021 This workshop aimed to support tripartite participants in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the area of social dialogue mechanisms for better policy formulation. The workshop provided participants with an opportunity to understand the concept and practice of Social Dialogue, which is defined by the ILO “to include all types of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers, on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy”. The self-training and the webinars placed emphasis on a number of globally applicable messages. Participants were taught that social dialogue is both a means to achieve decent work by strengthening democratic decision-making and an end in itself. While social dialogue practices differ from country to country, freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining are globally considered as fundamental human rights and constitute a key prerequisite to effective social dialogue. The ultimate objective of social dialogue is to improve the quality of decisions and policies through the involvement of the main stakeholders in the world of work, notably employers, workers and their representatives. Successful social dialogue institutions and processes have the potential to resolve important economic and social issues, deal with crises -such as the COVID-19 pandemic-, encourage good governance, maintain social peace, reduce inequality and promote economic growth. The relevance of these messages to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was further discussed and explored in the webinars, through presentations and interactive group work exercises on specific themes OBJECTIVES The objective of the self-training modules and interactive webinars was threefold: (a) to provide participants with an opportunity to build knowledge on the themes addressed under each module; (b) to enhance their social dialogue skills and capacity in effectively shaping responses to contemporary challenges in the world of work; and (c) to allow them to reflect on best practices and their experiences, and start drawing up a plan to further strengthen social dialogue in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. CONTENT The sessions delivered during the webinars included the following topics: • International labour standards and social dialogue • Collective bargaining • Workplace cooperation • Actors of social dialogue: Worker’s organizations • Actors of social dialogue: Employer’s organizations ACHIEVEMENT The course contributed to the following output: Better understanding of the role of social dialogue and its different forms Better understanding of the actors of social dialogue