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About CoESS

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CoESS Activities

CoESS works with the objective of implementing its statutes. With this view, it develops a series of internal and external activities

Internal activities

The CoESS General Assemblies allow all members of CoESS (full members, associated members and corresponding members) to take note of achieved results, to define mandates for new actions, to exchange views and to debate on on-going issues.

CoESS is also trying to extend its membership. Currently, CoESS has members in 21 out of 25 countries of the 25 EU Member States and in Bulgaria, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. CoESS is continuing its efforts to look for membership also from other candidate countries.

CoESS is structured around working committees. The Statutes foresee in 7 working committees:

  1. Guarding
  2. Transport of Valuables
  3. Electronic surveillance
  4. Airport security
  5. Social dialogue
  6. Enlargement to the candidate countries of the European Union and other European countries
  7. Professional Training

The Statutes also foresee in the creation of other working committees, depending on the needs. The following working committees have been created by the Board of Directors:

8. Maritime Security

With this structure, CoESS wants to incorporate all branches of the industry. All working committees are composed by experts in the respective fields. They deal in practice with all pending and future issues concerning these fields. The presidents of the different committees are members of the Board of Directors, ensuring thus the necessary links, exchange of information and cooperation between the Board and the work of the Working Committees.

External activities

Private security services operate within a wide range of legislation, policies and practices defined by the EU institutions and which directly affect the business. CoESS has the vocation to become the unique industry representation to the EU institutions in order to defend the common interests of its members at EU level and to keep them informed on European dossiers that impact their activities.

CoESS is very active within the European Social Dialogue.

CoESS aims to develop relations with other European employer's federations such as EFCI (cleaning), EuroCommerce (commerce), EBF (European Banking Federation) and with UNICE, the cross-sectoral European employers' confederation.

Besides its contact with The European Commission's Directorate General Employment and Social Affairs (responsible for the European Social Dialogue), CoESS is building up relations with other Directorates General such as those responsible for Internal Market, Economic and Financial Affaires, Transport and Energy, and Justice and Home Affairs.

CoESS has also been very closely involved in all activities related to the private security sector which have been organised during the Belgian Presidency of the European Union (July - December 2001). The lobbying of CoESS during this Presidency has lead to a series of initiatives taken by the Belgium and followed-up by the next Presidencies, in particular the initiative of Spain on the setting up of a Network of contact points of national authorities responsible for the private security. The private sector is involved in this network.


European Social Dialogue

Introduction

For more than 10 years now, the European trade union representing private security employees (UNI-Europa) and CoESS regularly discuss and take joint action at European level. This has allowed them to build up mutual trust and confidence, and, more importantly, to look at each other as serious and representative partners with a shared interest of moving the private security sector forward, in such a way that both companies and workers can benefit from it.

UNI-Europa

UNI-Europa is the European regional organisation of the Union Network International (UNI) which brings together 1,000 trade unions in 140 countries. Based in Brussels, UNI-Europa is responsible for the social dialogue with the corresponding employers' organisations in numerous areas of activity in the service sector, including banking, insurance, telecommunications, postal services, commerce, hairdressing, the cleaning industry and the private security sector.
The members of UNI-Europa are the national trade unions which have members in those fields of activity. In the European private security sector, UNI-Europa represents about 30 trade unions and 200,000 members.
UNI-Europa's mission includes the exchange of information and co-ordination between trade unions, the social dialogue with employers' organisations at European level, facilitating contacts between trade unions and European institutions and promoting the development of the social dialogue at company level through European works councils.
The priorities of UNI-Europa for the private security sector are: the development of the training of workers, the improvement of health and safety standards and of career opportunities, the definition of decent social standards in all the European countries, the conciliation between private life and working life and the development of negotiation at all levels on all questions related to the modernisation of organisation of work.


The European Commission, Directorate General Employment and Social Affairs

Social Dialogue and consultation are key elements of the European model of society. The European Treaty recognises this, since it gives the European Commission the task of promoting social dialogue and provides for consultation of the European social partners on any social initiative.
This partnership approach is now making itself felt at cross-sectoral level and at sectoral level (including the private security sector). The outcome can be seen in 26 branches throughout Europe in more than 600 works councils in multinational companies.
For the European Commission, Social Dialogue is the required procedure for managing change at all of these levels and is being conducted on employment, where new ways of striking a balance between flexibility and job security in the labour market are being sought, on lifelong training, a prerequisite for creating a knowledge-based society, and on anticipating changes which will affect all companies and sectors.
In a concrete way, the European Commission provides the logistics for the Social Dialogue meetings (rooms, translation, reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses) and allows European social partners to benefit from subsidies for concrete actions.

The functioning of the European Social Dialogue

At regular times, both UNI-Europa and CoESS meet in Brussels, within the framework of their sectoral social dialogue committee, presided by the European Commission (DG Employment and Social Affairs). These meetings can be plenary ones (with a full representation of the majority of national affiliates of UNI-Europa and CoESS), restricted ones (working parties on a specific issue), or secretariat's meetings. The agenda of the meetings are jointly set.
The social dialogue has inherent mechanisms and moves forward along a well established pattern. Upon the initiative of one of the parties, a specific issues is set on the agenda. Political discussions then take place. If a joint understanding can be found on the issue, a common vision is put into place and then elaborated through specific action. The whole process is being politically and financially supported by the European Commission.


Joint Declarations

Since the start of their social dialogue at the beginning of the 90's, CoESS and UNI-Europa have adopted an impressive list of joint texts on a series of important issues for the sector. The negotiation of these texts has often been difficult. Nevertheless, CoESS and UNI-Europa have always been able to reach a common vision. Following texts have been adopted:

For the specific implementation of these Joint Declarations, see in section "Structures" - "Working Committee "Social Dialogue"
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