La actividad sindical y los derechos colectivos en las relaciones laborales del siglo XXI

Abstract

I.- OBJECTIVES OF THE THESIS This study analyses how collective labour relations have been affected by the application of digitalisation to the workplace, as well as by the consolidation of new forms of organising production characterised by increased flexibility and a clear tendency towards outsourcing. The research has a double objective. Firstly, it tries to make a rigorous diagnosis of the impact of the consolidation of post-Fordism at the end of the last century, as well as the arrival of the 4.0 economy in these first decades of the 21st century in the most important institutions of Trade Union Law. Below, a set of proposals for reform of the current collective labour law are formulated to make it more effective in the face of the new labour scenario. II.- METHODOLOGY Initially, the regulations on the subject matter under study have been examined, focusing on the legislative evolution experienced by some institutions. All this, in order to try to understand the purpose that has led the legislator to regulate the specific institution. Having noted that Spanish trade union legislation is often incomplete or shows signs of obsolescence, a thorough review has been made of both scientific doctrine and judicial doctrine, which updates issues on which the law is silent. In addition, the role of collective bargaining as a complement to other regulatory sources has been taken into account. The aforementioned regulations and judicial doctrine have been put in relation to the provisions of other legal systems on similar social and labour realities, in particular, in Italy. III.- RESULTS The current regulations for the election of unitary representation bodies are inadequate. Furthermore, there is a lack of adaptation of the regulation of the process of union elections to facilitate the participation of, among other cases, the workforce of companies with dispersed workplaces or those subject to high levels of digitalisation. It is also necessary to analyse the new functions that unitary representation must assume in the digital era, especially those related to the protection of workers' data and the monitoring of the algorithmic management of work. At the same time, it is noteworthy that union representation has been conditioned in recent decades by changing jurisprudence. Specifically, there has been a shift from an approach that restricted its capacity to form and operate to one that has recognised the autonomy and independence of the union to organise and act in the company. As a result, union representation is now more flexible and adaptable to situations such as groups of companies or the atomisation of workforces. Another relevant issue is the transmission of information to workers by their representatives. In Spain, this issue has given rise to extensive constitutional, Supreme Court and even appeal doctrine, which has allowed the scope of new ways of exercising this right in the digital age to be delimited. In contrast, in other countries there has been direct intervention by the legislator. Furthermore, in the 4.0 economy, it is an unavoidable necessity for collective bargaining to update and incorporate new content, as well as to regulate new sectors of activity and new forms of online work . For this reason, the negotiating tables are increasingly addressing the regulation of teleworking. This need to update the framework of labour relations is also applicable to collective conflicts. In particular, it is essential to protect the right to strike from threats arising from the business practice of resorting to abusive terms of decentralisation and new technologies to weaken collective demands raised in a lawful and legitimate manner.