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Final Version Wp 5 Working Paper No. 5 Industrial relations and collective bargaining: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico compared Adalberto Cardoso and Julián Gindin Industrial and Employment Relations Department International Labour Office • Geneva October 2009 Copyright © International Labour Organization 2009 First published 2009 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered in the United Kingdom with the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP [Fax: (+44) (0)20 7631 5500; email: [email protected]], in the United States with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 [Fax: (+1) (978) 750 4470; email: [email protected]] or in other countries with associated Reproduction Rights Organizations, may make photocopies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. __________________________________________________________________________________________ ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data Cardoso, Adalberto; Gindin, Julián Industrial relations and collective bargaining: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico compared / Adalberto Cardoso and Julián Gindin ; International Labour Office. - Geneva: ILO, 2009 1 v. ISBN: 9789221225300; 9789221225317 (web pdf) International Labour Office labour relations / collective bargaining / social dialogue / institutional framework / legal aspect / Argentina / Brazil / Mexico 13.06.1 __________________________________________________________________________________________ The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publications, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of new publications are available free of charge from the above address, or by email: [email protected] Visit our website: www.ilo.org/publns Printed in Switzerland Foreword This working paper is part of a comparative study examining industrial relations developments in different countries and regions of the world. The paper provides a comparative analysis of industrial relations in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. All three countries have distinct political, institutional and economic backgrounds, yet they share some important features, such as the central role that the State plays in regulating the labour market and working conditions. This does not mean that collective bargaining is not important where it exists; only that its role tends to be limited to legally defined constituencies. Neoliberal reforms in the three countries (the 1980s in Mexico, and the 1990s in Brazil and Argentina) had a profound impact on employment relations and collective bargaining. Deregulation resulted in dramatic increase in atypical contracts, including temporary employment and service contracts. The increase in subcontracting arrangements reduced the bargaining power of trade unions and the quality of collective agreements. While collective bargaining in Mexico and Brazil had always been relatively decentralized, in Argentina, the reforms also resulted in the decentralization of a previously centralized collective bargaining structure. In all three countries, an increase in informal employment reduced the coverage of collective bargaining. In recent years, political and economic developments resulted in attempts to reverse these trends, particularly in Argentina and Brazil. In Brazil, the Labour Court placed limitations on subcontracting, and in both countries, unions sought to regulate subcontracting through collective agreements or to have the terms of those agreements extended to all workers. For example, in Argentina, the explicit promotion and coordination of collective bargaining by the government and the growth of registered salaried employment led to the reinvigoration of industry-level bargaining, which helped to protect the conditions of work of subcontracted workers. The changes in Mexican industrial relations have been less dramatic compared with those in Argentina and Brazil, yet developments over the past five years point to a more autonomous organized labour movement, with the promise of improving worker voice and autonomous industrial relations. This working paper is a welcome contribution to improving the understanding of industrial relations in Latin America for the ILO and its constituents. It has the added interest of covering the industrial relations traditions of the three largest economies in the region and provides a good basis for comparing developments in other parts of the world, particularly in emerging economies. I am grateful to Adalberto Cardoso and Julián Gindin from the Rio de Janeiro Graduate Research Institute (IUPERJ) for undertaking this study and commend the report to all interested readers. Tayo Fashoyin September 2009 Director, Industrial and Employment Relations Department iii Contents Foreword ........................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Historical overview ..................................................................................................... 1 Neoliberal reforms of labour market institutions........................................................ 4 The socio-economic consequences of neoliberal reforms .......................................... 7 The new political context .......................................................................................... 10 1.The legislative and institutional framework ................................................................... 15 Workers’ associations ................................................................................................ 15 Collective bargaining ................................................................................................. 17 Public sector provisions ............................................................................................. 20 Industrial relations institutions .................................................................................. 22 2. Actors ............................................................................................................................ 25 Argentina ................................................................................................................... 25 Brazil ......................................................................................................................... 27 Mexico ....................................................................................................................... 29 Argentina, Brazil and Mexico compared ................................................................... 31 Union density............................................................................................................. 32 Recent developments ................................................................................................. 35 3. Collective bargaining and social dialogue ..................................................................... 37 Argentina ................................................................................................................... 37 Brazil ......................................................................................................................... 39 Mexico ....................................................................................................................... 42 Collective action ........................................................................................................ 44 Social dialogue and tripartism ................................................................................... 46 4. The quality of industrial relations ................................................................................. 53 Case studies ............................................................................................................... 58 Bank workers in Brazil ........................................................................................
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