Dismantling and deactivation of the collective bargaining system. the decline of the binding force of the collective agreement before 2021 labour law reform

Abstract

The spaces in which collective bargaining currently takes place and those others that remain to be explored will endow its structure with greater complexity. In addition to the emergence of new recruitment units, mainly for companies, there are other realities that contribute to the drawing of a negotiated structure that adds diffuse profiles that are scarcely predefined. The challenge is to move towards decent working conditions, adjusted to the changing realities of sectors and companies, their needs and transformation -leaving aside orientations unrelated to the construction of equitable and just social relations- which, facilitated by agreement and dialogue, ensure that collective bargaining is fully administered by those who are part of it, developing their own rules of action. The proposed lines of action, based on reinforcements to representativeness and legal certainty and on the enrichment of conventional content, are closely connected with the maintenance of the validity of the collective agreement denounced, the internal coordination of recruitment and the non-application of negotiated working conditions.