Parliament approved amendments to the Collective Bargaining Law

The International Labor Organization (ILO) He had suggested to the Uruguayan government that it include a series of changes after a complaint that the business sector presented to the international organization.

The times were extended and in 2019 the ILO made an observation to Uruguay and even included it in what is usually called “blacklist” either “short list”in which there are countries that do not respect labor laws or agreements.

After assuming, andhe current government drafted an amending billtaking into account a previous one, written during the last administration of the Broad Front.

The approved bill will be one of the signs of goodwill that the government delegation will present to the next ILO annual conference, which will take place in Geneva (Switzerland) during the first days of June.

The bill proposes five modifications. One of them is linked to the validity of the agreementswhat is known as the ultraactivity of the agreements. The law approved in 2008 during the first administration of the FA, establishes that collective agreements will remain fully valid in all its clauses until a new agreement replaces it, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The government initiative proposes to remove this point from the norm, and that both the validity and the extension of the agreements remain at the resolution of workers and employers.

A second point is linked to the ILO observation that refers to the exchange of information in negotiations, its confidentiality and responsibility in case of non-compliance. In this sense, the project establishes that both employers’ organizations and unions must have legal status.

A third point refers to the fact that if there is no union in a company, the legitimacy to negotiate labor aspects must rest with the workers even when they are not organized.

A fourth point seeks to ensure that the levels of collective bargaining are freely established by the parties (employers and workers), and are not subject to voting in a tripartite entity made up of the Executive Power.

The fifth and last point refers to the registration and publication of the resolutions of the Salary Councils.