Legislative regulation of relations social dialogue

The article analyses the Laws of Ukraine in the field of social dialogue relations and explores ways to harmonize and/or improve their provisions, which would enhance the guarantees of interaction and mutual understanding between the parties involved in such dialogue. The main provisions regarding social dialogue, particularly those concerning the resolution of collective labour disputes and labour mediation, should be enshrined in the fundamental regulatory act in the field of labour relations - the Labour Code of Ukraine (or a codified act that may replace it). The article provides a characterization of the Laws of Ukraine that are interconnected with the Law of Ukraine «On Social Dialogue in Ukraine» on issues concerning the subjects of such legal relations, including those that define the participation of executive authorities and local self-government bodies in social dialogue relations, as well as relevant draft laws. It also presents the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Trade Unions, Their Rights and Guarantees of Activity» that require harmonization with the fundamental regulatory act on social dialogue, as they limit its scope concerning the participation of trade unions/ their associations in social dialogue relations. It is proposed to address the identified inconsistencies by aligning them with the fundamental legislation on social dialogue. Attention is drawn to the contentious status of local self-government bodies as subjects of social dialogue due to the combination of partnership and accountability. It is noted that the Law of Ukraine «On the Procedure for Resolving Collective Labour Disputes» regulates the stages of resolving collective labour disputes, one of which is conciliation procedures. This procedure corresponds to the forms of social dialogue defined in the Law of Ukraine «On Social Dialogue in Ukraine». Therefore, there is a need to substantively synchronize the legislative rules of conciliation procedures during the resolution of collective labour disputes with the norms of legislation on social dialogue. Arguments are presented that labour mediation is one form of social dialogue: 1) it involves the interaction of parties in an out-of-court, structured procedure aimed at preventing conflicts, conducted through negotiations; 2) the scope of the Law of Ukraine «On Mediation» includes relations related to conducting mediation to prevent potential conflicts (disputes) or to resolve any existing conflicts (disputes), including labour disputes. It is concluded that the Law of Ukraine «On Social Dialogue in Ukraine» should be harmonized with the Law of Ukraine «On Mediation» regarding the definition of forms of social dialogue.