The different legal representatives of the workers

In today's post, we will explain how the dual channel of representation that workers have at their disposal to defend and protect their labor rights is configured in our labor relations system.

On the one hand, we have the unitary representatives, and on the other the union representatives.

• Unitary representatives:
  • Personnel delegates
  • Member of the works council
• Union representatives:
  • union sections
  • Union delegates

Next, we are going to analyze each of these figures:

Unitary representatives

It refers to the form of representation that the workers of a company can have after joining together. This will depend on the number of people this union has and is divided into:

Personnel delegates

• The personnel delegate is defined as: “the representative and collegial body of all the workers of the company or workplace for the defense of their interests.”
• They are constituted in companies with more than 6 workers and less than 49 workers. In companies with less than 6 workers, union elections may not be held.
• The person is chosen by and among the workers at the workplace.
• They are included in article 62 of the Workers' Statute.
• The duration of the mandate will be a total of 4 years.
• As a personnel delegate, you have certain guarantees:
  • You will have priority to remain in the company.
  • You may have a credit of paid monthly hours
  • Opening of contradictory file and hearing process
  • Not be fired or sanctioned (guarantee of immunity) in the exercise of their duties.
  • Prohibition of discrimination
  • Right to option for unfair dismissal

works council

• The company committee is defined as: “the representative and collegiate body of all the workers in the company or workplace for the defense of their interests, establishing one in each workplace whose census is 50 or more workers.” /ace.
• They are included in article 63 of the Workers' Statute.
• The members of the works council have the same guarantees as the personnel delegates.
• The duration of the mandate will be a total of 4 years.
• The number of members of the works council will depend on the number of workers at the workplace:
  • From 50 to 100 workers: 5 members
  • From 101 to 250 workers: 9 members

• From 251 to 500 workers: 13 members
• From 501 to 750 workers: 17 members
• From 751 to 1,000 workers: 21 members
• From 1,000 onwards, two for every 1,000 or fraction, with a maximum of 75.

• The Works committees will elect from among their members a president and a secretary of the committee. In addition, you must prepare a procedural regulation, delivering a copy of it to the labor authority, for registration purposes, and to the company. Said procedural regulations may not contravene the provisions of the law.

• We can find the following possibilities to constitute a committee:
  • o Designation in a center: with a workforce equal to or greater than 50 workers/ace.
  • either   Grouping of centers from the same province or neighboring municipalities
    • The centers that do not reach 50 workers, but that as a whole they add it, constituting a joint works committee.
    • When some centers have 50  workers and others  from the same province No, in the former their own company committees are formed and with all the latter another is formed.

Intercenter Committee:

• In those companies or workplaces where there are various company committees, the Constitution of an inter-center committee, provided that this has been agreed in the collective agreement.
  • o The intercenter committee it forms with members of the various committees and must maintain the proportionality of the unions according to the electoral results considered globally.
  • or the number maximum of representatives that it can consist of is 13 members.

union representatives

Within a company, workers have the possibility of uniting and electing a representative, taking advantage of the strength of a union and being able to fight for their labor rights in a more optimal way. This synergy will be made up of several areas:

union sections

• The workers of a workplace or company, affiliated to the same union, can group together based on that same affiliation and constitute a Union Section.
• The requirements to establish a union section are: (i) it must be established by the members, (ii) it must be established in accordance with the union's statutes, (iii) recognition by the company is not necessary, and (iv) it is governed by the principle of freedom of form.
• There can be as many Union Sections as there are unions in the company, regardless of the number of workers affiliated with each of them.
• The union sections of the most representative unions and those that have representation in the works councils will have the following rights:
  • Hold meetings with prior notification to the employer.
  • Collect fees.
  • Distribute union information outside of working hours without disturbing normal activity in the company.
  • Receive the information sent to you by your Union.

Union delegate

• While the personnel representative represents the company's workers, the union representative is responsible for representing the union.
• This person is elected by and among the members of the Union Section.
• We are not dealing with a representative of the workers in the strict sense, but rather with a representative of the respective Union Section.
• Depending on the number of existing workers at the time of establishing the union section, we can find: Union Delegates or Union Spokespersons.
  • Union Delegates: we will find them in the union sections that meet the requirements established in the LOLS: (i) in companies with more than 250 workers, (ii) that have a union presence in the unitary representation bodies and (iii) that have been communicated to the company.
  • Union spokespersons: we find them in the union sections of companies whose number of workers is less than 250 workers. These people lack the rights and guarantees that the LOLS grants to the Union Delegates of more than 250 workers.

• The Union Delegate has rights to information, consultation and prerogatives that the LOLS assigns to him/her in companies or work centers with more than 250 workers, or, where applicable, the requirements established by the applicable collective agreement. When these requirements are not met, you may be designated as spokesperson or representative by the union section that is established in the company, with certain rights of information, participation and consultation provided for by law, but you will not hold those prerogatives such as, for example, the enjoy hourly credit, the right to attend meetings of the Works Council, the right of option in case of unfair dismissal, etc.

If you like these topics, and want to learn and know more about this matter, request information and sign up for our “Master in HR: People Management, Talent Development and Labor Management”.