New agreement in chemicals extends union rights

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On 24 March 1999, representatives of employers and trade unions in the Spanish chemicals industry signed the sector's 12th general agreement, which reinforces the role of trade union representatives at company level and the role of the most representative unions at national level. Such an agreement to extend trade union rights is unprecedented in Spain, but it has been criticised by the minority unions.

On 24 March 1999 employers and unions in Spain signed the 12th revision of the general agreement for the chemicals industry, which was backdated to 1 January 1999 and will remain in force for two years until 31 December 2000. The signatories were the Federation of Spanish Chemical Industry Employers (Federación Empresarial de la Industria Química Española, FEIQUE), the Federation of Textile-Leather Chemical and Allied Industries (Federación de Industrias Textil-Piel, Químicas y Afines, FITEQA) affiliated to the CC.OO trade union confederation and the Federation of Allied Industries (Federación de Industrias Afines, FIA) affiliated to the UGT confederation.

New points in the 12th general agreement

The 12th general agreement for chemicals includes new provisions on pay, working time, employment and, most innovatively, trade union rights.

Pay

Pay will increase by the percentage rise forecast by the government for the retail prices index (RPI) for 1999, namely 1.8%. There will also be a further 0.4% which will be allocated to a reserve that covers new length-of-service payments, bonuses and adjustment of pay scales within the same occupational group and between different occupational groups. Any remainder may be used as a carry-over or personal bonus once the agreement has expired. The pay increase is based on the gross paybill of each company, after subtracting the amounts that are not strictly pay. A backdated revision with a ceiling of 0.2% is also envisaged in case inflation is greater than the rate forecast. In addition, the minimum guaranteed pay scale has been increased by the RPI forecast by the government plus 0.4%.

Working time

The maximum number of working hours has been reduced from 1,780 to 1,776 in 1999 and to 1,764 in 2000, except in companies that have already agreed shorter working hours. It is possible to take time off in advance in line with the 100 hours of flexibly distributed time laid down in the 11th general agreement, signed in 1997 (ES9705210N).

Employment

The agreement provides for disclosure of information about types of employment contract, in accordance with statutory amendments arising from the April 1997 intersectoral agreement on employment security (ES9706211F). Companies must provide worker representatives with information in the last quarter of each year on workforce trends, types of employment contract and subcontract, and forecasts and objectives for the following year, including proposed investments, technological innovations and plans for training and promotion.

Trade union rights

Trade union rights are reinforced by means of the annual accumulation and management of the hours allocated as time off for trade union duties to workers' committee s, workers' delegates and trade union delegates, when the representatives entitled to these hours agree to their transfer to the trade union. The position of trade union delegate is extended and they will have rights in companies with over 150 workers (rather than the statutory threshold of 250 workers), without the individual right to paid time off but with the option of using trade union hours from the reserve managed by the trade union. The agreement also improves disclosure of information to trade unions. In the last quarter of each year, companies must provide the most representative trade unions that signed the 12th general agreement with information on the number of workers employed, the nature and duration of employment contracts and employment forecasts for the following 12 months. Communications between the trade union federations and the management of the groups of companies affected by the collective agreement that have a management structure at this level are improved. The provisions on trade union rights have been agreed for a period of four years.

Negotiation process and assessment

The parties involved in the negotiations were the employers' association, FEIQUE, the most representative trade union federations in the chemicals sector at national level, FITEQA-CC.OO and FIA-UGT, and the most representative trade union in the autonomous community of Galicia, the Galician Inter-union Confederation (Confederación Intersindical Galega, CIGA). The sectoral federations of CC.OO and UGT had drawn up a joint set of demands and proposed a strike across the whole sector for 16 and 17 March 1999 if no agreement were reached in the bargaining commission meeting held on 24 February.

After 12 hours of continuous negotiations, a preliminary agreement was reached. It included the provisions outlined above but avoided more substantial changes in order to facilitate the signing of the agreement. In addition to the provisions agreed, the employers would have liked to see greater flexibility in working hours, non-binding variable payments and a four-year period of validity. The trade unions would have liked a higher wage increase and a greater reduction in working hours for all workers (particularly on continuous shifts). The 12th general agreement was subsequently signed by FEIQUE, FITEQA-CC.OO and FIA-UGT, but not by CIGA.

Both the employers and the trade unions, which signed, consider the agreement to be positive in that it includes a series of improvements, such as the wage increase, shorter working hours and the extension of trade union rights. However, all the signatories view the agreement as "transitional" insofar as more substantial provisions were left out, and they are convinced that significant changes must be incorporated into future negotiations.

Commentary

The main innovation in the agreement is the extension of trade union rights by reinforcing the role both of union representatives at company level and of the most representative trade unions at national level (FITEQA-CC.OO and FIA-UGT). The main features are the following:

• companies with over 150 workers will now have a trade union delegate, whereas current legislation (the Organic Law on Trade Union Freedom) establishes a threshold of 250 workers. Moreover, though the new delegates would not have been entitled to paid time off for union duties under the law, they will in fact be so entitled under the terms of the agreement since unions will be allowed to manage the paid time off of trade union and workers' representatives;

• the paid time off of workers' representatives in companies (workers' committees, workers' delegates and trade union delegates) will be accumulated in a single reserve of hours managed by the trade union federations, provided that those entitled to them waive their rights. The trade union delegates in companies with between 150 and 250 workers can use this time at the express wish of the trade union;

• the most representative trade unions that signed the agreement are entitled to receive direct information from companies on their employment policy; and

• the management of the groups of companies covered by the agreement that have an administrative unit at group level will deal directly with the trade union federations, a provision based on experience in some of the most important groups in the chemicals sector.

This extension of rights has led other trade unions to conclude that this agreement infringes the rights of non-union representatives in the company (among workers' committees and workers' delegates) as well as those of unions not considered representative at national level. This is the case of the General Confederation of Labour (Confederación General del Trabajo, CGT), which has taken legal action against the application of these clauses. (Manuel Sánchez, CIREM Foundation)