On May 19, 2022, the Labor Directorate published ruling No. 810/15, which ruled on various aspects related to collective bargaining carried out by negotiating groups, reconsidering the doctrine on this matter. Regarding the ruling, we can highlight the following:

1. The Labor Directorate points out that the negotiating groups could only negotiate through an atypical procedure, since they are entities that are not regulated by the current labor legislation.

2. The Labor Department considers that the absence of a legal collective bargaining procedure for negotiating groups implies that the Labor Department is not empowered to determine the manner in which the collective will is exercised in this case, being a matter to be determined by the legislator. This prevents the Labor Directorate from qualifying as a collective instrument any agreements entered into by a negotiating group.

3. The Labor Department argues that in this type of procedure the regulation on regulated and unregulated collective bargaining would not be applicable. Nor would it be possible to extend the benefits of an agreement entered into by a group of workers united for the sole purpose of negotiating.

Should you require additional information on this matter, please contact: Alfred Sherman (asherman@jdf.cl), Gonzalo Aravena (garavena@jdf.cl), and/or Felipe Ovalle (fovalle@jdf.cl).