Trade unions and employers are not being involved enough in reform decisions by some European governments, further straining ties as the continent pushes forward with crisis-fighting austerity measures, dpa cited the European Union warn on Thursday. "Social dialogue is under increasing pressure in the current context of depressed macroeconomic demand, tax increases and government spending cuts," EU Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor said as he presented a new report on European industrial relations. "Reforms have not always been accompanied by a fully effective social dialogue, leading to a lack of consensus about what should be a fair distribution of the costs of the crisis," he added. "This can make the implementation in practice of the reforms more difficult." Trade unions have been at the forefront of many anti-austerity protests, arguing that the EU drive to slash public deficits is undercutting growth and fueling unemployment. But Andor rejected suggestions that the European Commission - a member of the often-villainized troika which has overseen austerity-laden bailouts for eurozone countries - was to blame for the strains between governments, trade unions and employers. -- SPA 18:07 LOCAL TIME 15:07 GMT تغريد
