On Thursday December 4, 2025, representatives of trade unions, employers, policymakers, and researchers from across Europe gathered at Atelier29 in Brussels for the Final Conference of the BARSERVICE project: “Towards Smart Bargaining in Europe’s Services Sectors.”

The event brought together insights from research conducted in Croatia, Türkiye, Serbia, Slovakia, Czechia, North Macedonia, Italy, Romania, and France, exploring how collective bargaining can respond to the profound changes shaping Europe’s service sectors.

The programme offered a full day of thematic sessions with speakers from UNI Europa, the European Commission, the European Parliament, national trade unions from Croatia, Slovakia, Türkiye, Romania, and Serbia, discussing key challenges and opportunities in the care, finance, publishing, and commerce sectors.

A high-level session on the future of smart bargaining featured Diana Crumpăna (European Commission), Oliver Roethig (UNI Europa & ETUC), and Branislav Ondruš (Member of the European Parliament – Slovakia).

Throughout the day, participants discussed rising job insecurity, technological and organisational pressures on workers, and ways to strengthen bargaining coverage.

A recurring theme was how smart, evidence-based social dialogue can support better working conditions across the services sector.

The CELSI team – Managing Director Marta Kahancová and researchers Simona Brunnerová and Iida Nokkala – played an active part throughout the day, presenting research contributions from Slovakia and Czechia, while Marta also closed the conference by highlighting key findings and next steps for strengthening collective bargaining in services.

In her closing remarks, Marta Kahancová emphasised that the BARSERVICE project has created practical tools and comparative insights to support unions and employers in adapting bargaining strategies to the realities of fast-changing service industries.

She thanked all partners and participants for their collaboration throughout the project.

The BARSERVICE project is implemented by: WageIndicator Foundation, UNI Europa, Dokuz Eylul University, ASE București, Macedonia2025, University of Belgrade, IRMO – Institute for Development and International Relations, and CELSI – Central European Labour Studies Institute.

🔗 Learn more about the BARSERVICE project at: https://celsi.sk/en/barservice/

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