Major revision of chemicals industry agreement

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In May 2001, a new national general collective agreement (the 13th such accord) was signed for the Spanish chemicals industry. The three-year deal constitutes a major revision of the previous agreement, and introduces innovations in areas such as variable pay, working time and tarde union rights.

On 9 May 2001, a [new national general collective agreement for the chemicals industry](http://www.fiteqa.ccoo.es/NEGOCIACION_COLECTIVA/QUIMICA/DOCUMENTOS/XIII CONVENIO QUIMICAS.pdf)- the 13th such agreement - was signed in Madrid by the Employers' Federation of the Spanish Chemicals Industry (Federación Empresarial de la Industria Química Española, FEIQUE), and the trade unions - the Federation of Textiles, Leather, Chemicals and Allied Industries (Federación de Industrias Textil-Piel, Químicas y Afines, FITEQA) affiliated to the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO), and the Federation of Allied Industries (Federación de Industrias Afines, FIA) affiliated to the General Workers' Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT). The new agreement, which runs (retrospectively) from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2003, affects directly 180,000 workers in over 5,000 companies, and indirectly 50,000 chemicals industry workers covered by other agreements. The new agreement represents a major revision of its predecessor, signed in 1999 (ES9905123F), with 45% of the articles having been modified.

Pay

The most important pay provision of the agreement is that for the first time flexible pay has been regulated in a sectoral collective agreement at national level. The accord establishes new trade union participation mechanisms, providing for: information and consultation prior to the introduction of individual variable pay; and bargaining and agreement on productivity targets and their monitoring, related to collective variable pay. Pay increases linked to results are not to be consolidated into the gross paybill of each company, unless there is express agreement at company level. It has also been agreed to study the possibility of setting up a sectoral occupational pension fund if the current legislation is modified.

The previous general agreement established ceilings for pay rises, which were exceeded in 2000 due to a far higher increase in the retail prices index (RPI) than had been foreseen, so the new agreement has eliminated such pay ceilings. Wages will be revised each year, with full backdated application of any positive difference between the real and expected RPI. The increase in the agreed gross paybill is calculated as inflation, plus a 0.4% increase in purchasing power each year, plus compensation of 1.9% over the whole period of the agreement. Thus, pay will increase by: 3.2% (expected RPI 1.2%) in 2001; expected RPI 1.0% in 2002; and expected RPI 0.9% in 2003.

Employment

The agreement reflects the parties' desire for stable employment of high quality, by supporting the conversion of temporary contracts into permanent ones when temporary contracts for the same or a similar activity total 12 months in any period of 18 months (fixed-term contracts) or 24 months in any 36 months (contracts "for works or services"). Also, the agreement regulates the working time of workers on part-time contracts and "fixed-discontinuous" contracts (open-ended contracts for intermittent, discontinuous or cyclical activities): the points covered are the distribution of working hours, the amount of overtime, and switching from a part-time to a full-time contract and vice-versa at the initiative of the worker (ES0103237F).

This collective effort to obtain stable, high-quality employment in the sector is reinforced by the granting of a right for trade unions to receive information and monitor the relationship between production, employment, recruitment and outsourcing.

Working time

The main progress made on working time is the regulation of weekend working and an improvement in the working conditions of employees working in a continuous shift system. On weekend working, procedures have been established to deal with changing production requirements requiring such work through new temporary contracts (for temporary activities), agreements on irregular working hours, changes to shift systems, and the limited use of a "flexible working time pool" (in the first instance involving volunteers, and otherwise obliging the employees involved to work a maximum of four Saturdays per year). On continuous shiftworking, the agreement introduces measures such as fixed collective holidays, and priority in the choice of shift for pregnant or breast-feeding women and workers solely responsible for the support of children or disabled people.

Working time will also continue to be reduced progressively to 1,764 hours per year in 2001, 1,760 in 2002, and 1,752 in 2003 (ES9909150F).

Work organisation, classification and training

The new agreement promotes an integrated approach to work organisation, occupational classification and vocational training. It includes a recommendation to carry out a study on occupational classification which may be incorporated in the text of the next agreement, and on the possibility of creating a "training foundation", which will carry out studies on technological and organisational changes and new occupational requirements, and their repercussions on job classification, training needs, and acquiring and accrediting skills.

Other new features in this area are: a revision and limited updating of the definitions used in occupational classification; obligatory mediation by the sectoral joint committee in cases of disagreement on a substantial general modification of working conditions; and the incorporation of workers with limited-term contracts in training plans.

Health and safety and working conditions

To further the objective of maintaining and creating high-quality employment, it has been agreed to make an extra effort to generalise improvements in working conditions and health and safety in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME s) which form the bulk of the industry, and in subcontractor firms. This is a significant development, due to the high accident rate in these companies (ES0106147F).

"Grouped" training plans on health and safety have been extended to SMEs, and meetings on health and safety must be held at least once a quarter in companies with fewer than 50 workers. Trade union monitoring of the working conditions of employees in subcontractor firms and of those who work outside the workplace has been reinforced. The possibility of setting up a sectoral health and safety foundation is also being considered.

Positive action and reconciling work with family life

The agreement sets out the principle of non-discrimination between employees performing work of equal value, and provisions on the development of positive actions aimed at persons of the sex under-represented in each occupational group. These actions address not only the conditions of recruitment, training and promotion, but also pay and working conditions in general. The agreement prohibits discrimination in promotion for reasons of "race or country of origin, or any other personal or social circumstances".

The new accord incorporates the provisions of the 1999 Law on Reconciliation of Work and Family Life (ES9911165F), in relation to the following issues: reduction in working time for family reasons; suspension of employment contracts with the job kept open for those taking family-related leave; unpaid leave; leave to take care of relatives; and the definition of the objectives of protection of maternity in relation to risk prevention and limitations on night or shiftwork.

Trade union rights

The 13th general agreement for chemicals takes further the new model of industrial relations in the sector agreed in the 12th agreement. This involves reinforcing the dialogue between trade unions and employers' representatives by giving greater powers of mediation in disputes to the sectoral joint committee, whose resolutions will be binding and have the same value as the text of the agreement itself. It also supports the transfer of bargaining to the company level, ie negotiation of company agreements by trade union sections. This will contribute to the better articulation of bargaining at sectoral and company level (which in the Spanish industrial relations framework is highly influenced by intermediate levels of bargaining, such as the provincial and regional levels - ES0107150N).

The social dialogue is also reinforced at European level, and a commitment has been made to renegotiate trade union rights, with the possibility of incorporating improvements in January 2003.

Commentary

This ambitious renewal of the chemicals sector agreement is a major improvement on the previous 12th agreement, which was a "transition agreement". A wide range of highly complex topics, from pay to trade union rights, was dealt with through an intense process of gathering information, debating and bargaining within and between the organisations that signed the agreement. This was achieved in a very short time for negotiations of this type, and without the threat of industrial disputes. The parties to the agreement consider the overall result to be very positive because it provides three years of stable industrial relations. However, its application and development will be a challenge in an industry made up of many sectors and with a high number of SMEs. (Manuel Sánchez, Fundació CIREM)