President Michelle Bachelet’s executive has had to backtrack on some of its labor law reform that looked to strengthen the role of trade unions (c.f. article No. 9601) that to date have been hampered by legislation dating back to the Pinochet regime. On 27 April the country’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that union monopoly, which meant that companies could only negotiate with legally designated unions during collective wage talks, was unconstitutional. The court has also questioned the doing away with of ‘negotiating groups’, seen as being in competition with trade union bodies.
Frustration and confusion within the government as it witnesses its landmark reform hit significant obstacles; a new draft will have to be approved. Following a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Tribunal, Chile’s Congress will have to vote again on a reworked draft Labor Code reform. On Saturday 07 May, before the complete ruling of the court was made known the government decided to veto the reform in order to be able to make changes to the original text, in particular over removal of the
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