Chile, European Union Region · 24 May, 2021

Dialogue on labour regulation and collective bargaining within the framework of Chile’s constitutional process

The central theme of the discussion organised by the European Union Programme EUROsociAL+ and the Confederation of Production and Commerce was employment regulation and collective bargaining, its evolution and context, based on the European experience.

In the context of the Chile-European Union Forum, specialists in Labour Regulation and Collective Bargaining analysed the importance of social dialogue and the significant role required of the new Chilean Constitution, in order to “revitalise democracy, with greater protection of the rights of companies and workers, with more solid labour relations and safeguarding equity in the rights of men and women”, in the words of the president of the CPC, Juan Sutil, who opened the discussion.

The European Union ambassador to Chile, León de la Torre, who also opened the debate, highlighted the importance of social dialogue as one of the pillars of the rule of law in social and democratic terms. “This is the area in which the three major actors in public life – government, employers’ associations and trade unions – meet to strengthen trust in the State and its social functions, constituting a balanced way to improve social conditions and work in order to alleviate social tension at the right time”, he said. He also recalled the importance of social dialogue running in parallel to political dialogue during the time of the Spanish democratic transition, which was key in the construction of a new model of coexistence with the 1978 Constitution and the creation of stability and trust in the country and its institutions. According to León de la Torre, this was essential to the success of Spain and the European Union. This highlights the importance of dialogue between Chile and the European Union in the current constituent process, “in order to share European experiences and hopefully contribute to shaping economic and social rights, their models and social dialogue”, he concluded.

Three experts from the EU participated in the discussion, which was moderated by Fernando Alvear, General Manager of the Confederation of Production and Commerce. In the introduction, Adriano Durri, lecturer in the Chairs of Public Law and Regional Law of the Department of Political Sciences of Rome’s La Sapienza University, referred to the freedom of entrepreneurship, employment and union rights in European constitutions, looking back over history from the Weimar Constitution (Germany, 1919), which is considered a turning point towards the recognition of social rights which were until then excluded.

Ludger Pries, the director of the Chair of Sociology, Organisation, Migration and Participation at Germany’s University of Bochum, reviewed the forms that trade unions take and the opportunities and challenges they present. He highlighted the path of the social market economy in which the European Union is framed, emphasising the importance of worker participation and its effects on companies. He stressed that “the higher the rate of participation in work, the higher the rate of democratic quality in a country.”

The last presentation was given by Valeria Andretta, representative of the Industrial Relations Directorate of the National Association of Builders (EDILI), a trade association that represents private entrepreneurs in the public works and commercial and industrial construction sectors in Italy. Her speech focused on collective bargaining in Europe as the main instrument for regulating employment relations and company-union collaboration for the training of human resources and the management of productive crises.

The discussion was closed by Francesco M. Chiodi, coordinator of EUROsociAL+’s Social Policies Area, who highlighted the convergence of European speakers around the centrality of social dialogue, both from the point of view of common values and also in instrumental terms, arguing that agreements that emanate from dialogue ensure stability and provide a number of labour relations aspects with certainty. Therefore companies, especially small ones, and employees know what to expect and they can avoid always having to negotiate and take decisions since they have a frame of reference. Negotiations at the territorial and company level, in addition, without replacing the national level, facilitate flexibility and adaptation to specific characteristics.

Country: Chile, European Union Region
SDG: Decent work and economic growth, Peace, justice and strong institutions, Partnerships for the goals
Policy area: Social policies