Has the domination by the two major union players, the UGT and the CCOO come to an end? This is what some believe, if a recent legal ruling is anything to go by. On 06 May, Spain’s National Audience ruled on a dispute, between the UGT and CCOO on one hand and the CSIF on the other, over the make up of union representative bodies at the Heineken company. The decision comes at a time when the role of the big unions is being questioned as they experience falling membership numbers, restricted negotiation leeway, and a loss of credibility due to a series of scandals. This Audience’s particularly clear ruling is being seen as a warning against ‘duopoly’ status enjoyed by the big unions.
Heineken ruling. On the 06 May 2016 the Social Chamber of Spain’s National Audience ruled in favor of the CSIF union that was protesting attempts by both the CCOO and the UGT to obstruct the smaller union from joining union negotiation bodies at the Heineken company. The CSIF union that had obtained four out of the nine membership places on Heineken’s Madrid office’s works council, demanded that it also have a seat in the bodies undertaking national level negotiations over a new collective agreement and employees’ working conditions. The UGT and CCOO unions argued that composition of the negotiation tables had already been decided in 2000, well before union elections saw the CSIF gain any representation.
Do you have information to share with us?