Worker Participation and Labor Relations in Companies

Posted on Nov 30, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

Dismissal and Redundancy

Dismissal

Disciplinary Dismissal: Results in the termination of the labor contract.

Unfair Dismissal: Entitles the employee to reinstatement or compensation. If the employer chooses termination, compensation is 45 days’ salary per year of service, capped at 42 months. Interim wages are also due.

Redundancy

Allows employers to terminate contracts for economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons, unrelated to the worker’s performance. This can be individual or collective.

Worker Participation

Representation

Worker participation is facilitated through staff representatives and works councils.

Works Council Size: A company with 600 workers would have a 17-member works council.

Jurisdiction of Representatives

  • Passive Information: The right to receive information from the company.
  • Active Information: The right to be heard by the company and provide input.
  • Monitoring and Control: Oversight of company compliance with labor and social security standards, particularly health and safety.
  • Management and Collaboration: Participation in social programs and collaboration with the employer to improve productivity.
  • Negotiation and Conflict: Negotiation of collective agreements and the right to organize strikes and other collective actions.

Representative Guarantees

  • Right to a fair hearing in case of disciplinary actions.
  • Protection against dismissal, punishment, or discrimination for their representative work.
  • Priority in cases of transfers, dismissals, and suspensions.
  • Freedom of expression and communication.
  • Allocated hours for representative duties.

Election of Representatives

  • Elections are organized by the most representative unions or by a majority of workers.
  • Workers over 16 years old with at least one month of service are eligible to vote. Eligibility to be a representative requires being 18 years old with at least six months of service.
  • Voting is by personal, direct, free, and secret ballot. Foreign workers have the same rights as nationals.
  • Candidates can be nominated by unions or by workers with endorsements.
  • The election date is set by the convening body.
  • Voting is done per person.
  • In companies with works councils, voters are divided into two groups: technical and administrative staff, and specialists and unskilled workers.
  • Election results can be contested.

Allocated Time for Representatives

In a company with 300 workers, representatives have 30 hours per month for their duties.

Union Sections

Union sections are formed by workers in a workplace affiliated with the same union.

Rights of Representative Union Sections

  • Right to collective bargaining.
  • Right to a bulletin board in an accessible location.
  • Right to adequate space for operations in companies with more than 250 employees.

Union Stewards

Union stewards represent workers in the company. In a company with 500 employees, a union with 20% of the votes would have one representative.

Rights of Union Delegates

  • Right to information and documentation.
  • Negotiation of collective agreements.
  • Right to be heard in dismissals and disciplinary actions.
  • Intervention in dismissals for economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons.
  • Right to participate in collective disputes.
  • Attendance at company and health and safety committee meetings.
  • Freedom of publication and distribution.
  • Allocated hours for representative duties.
  • Paid leave for collective bargaining.
  • Right to a fair hearing.
  • Priority in staying with the company.
  • Protection against dismissal and sanctions.
  • Prohibition of discrimination.

Safety Representatives

Safety representatives are responsible for preventing workplace hazards.

Health and Safety Committee

Mandatory in companies with 50 or more workers. Composed of worker and employer representatives.

Technological Dismissal (Article 51)

  • Similar to objective dismissal for individual cases.
  • Procedure:
    • Request to competent employment authorities.
    • Consultation with worker representatives (at least 30 days, or 15 days for companies with fewer than 50 workers).
    • Agreement requires a majority of worker representatives.
    • The employer informs the labor authority, which decides within 15 days.
    • If no agreement is reached, the labor authority decides within 15 days.
  • Compensation: 20 days’ salary per year of service, up to 12 months.

Suspension of Contract

  • Similar procedure to Article 51, but without compensation.
  • Consultation period is halved.