The Law Today

New doctrine of the Labor Bureau on Collective Bargaining Groups

06 Ago 2018

Introduction

In the framework of Law 20,940 of 2016 that modernized the Labor Relations System, the Labor Bureau issued Ordinary Letter No. 3938/33 on July 27, 2018 to supplement and restate its doctrine on agreements of collective bargaining groups.

The right of collective bargaining

This change is based on the fact that collective bargaining is a right guaranteed by the Political Constitution of Chile, which stipulates that everyone has the right to bargain collectively, regardless of whether they are in a union. This right is also stipulated in many rules in the Labor Code that acknowledge the existence of collective bargaining agreements signed by collective bargaining groups.

Recognition of agreements by collective bargaining groups

The Labor Bureau therefore decided to modify existing doctrine (which allows bargaining only with unions) so that the agreements of a collective bargaining group are considered to be a collective bargaining instrument expressly recognized by the Labor Code.

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Should you require further information on this subject, please contact Claudia Godoy at cgodoy@jdf.cl or Alfred Sherman at asherman@jdf.cl.

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