Labor delegations as instruments of the social policy. (I) Introduction and first steps: Largo Caballero (1931-1933)

Abstract

In this article we study the process of creating the provincial work delegations, their background, their meaning in the context of Largo Caballero's social policy, the debates in the Courts prior to the approval of the Law and the process that selected their staff. Through the delegations, the minister proposed to strengthen and modernize the implementation of the Ministry of Labor throughout the territory, decentralize its management and have qualified officials in all provinces, thus guaranteeing the application of social legislation. The bitter debates in the Cortes about their powers reflected the radicals' fear of the creation of a new socialist power within the State. However, in the Law itself, the minister had renounced his ability to freely appoint the delegates to establish that all delegation staff (work delegates, delegation assistants, labor inspectors and auxiliary inspectors) would be recruited in an opposition open.