On 28–29 October, Vilnius hosted a Nordic–Baltic seminar organised by the European Labour Authority (ELA), entitled “Strengthening Social Partner Engagement in Preventing Undeclared Work and Improving Compliance”.

The Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (LPSK) was represented at the event by Project Manager Birutė Daškevičienė.

The seminar focused on cooperation between social partners and labour inspectorates, building trust, preventing undeclared work and developing joint initiatives.

One of the most interesting practical exercises involved a role-reversal discussion. Trade union representatives put forward provocative statements and questions to employers’ representatives, while employers’ representatives did the same to trade unions. The discussions were moderated by representatives of the opposite side: the trade union representatives’ discussion was moderated by employer representative Dr Vilius Mačiulaitis, while the employers’ discussion was moderated by Natalja Preisa, a trade union representative from Latvia.

Such practical exercises provide an opportunity to look at cooperation between social partners from a different perspective, better understand different expectations and seek common solutions.

The seminar also provided an opportunity to share experiences from the Nordic and Baltic countries and discuss ways to strengthen tripartite cooperation and jointly develop more effective measures to prevent undeclared work.