Compulsory arbitration ends bargaining impasse in print and graphics industry

The unprecedented decision to adopt compulsory arbitration has ensured the revision of the collective agreement in the graphics and printing industry, following a deadlock in the negotiations. The compulsory arbitration has not only put an end to one of the more prolonged impasses in sectoral collective bargaining; it has also led to changes in line with the technological evolution and modernisation that has been underway in the industry in recent decades.

Background

The collective bargaining process for the revision of the agreement in the graphics and printing industry, which started in April 2007, reached an impasse between the two parties concerned – namely, the Trade Union of Workers of the Pulp, Paper, Graphics and Press Industries (Sindicato dos trabalhadores das indústrias de celulose, papel, gráfica e imprensa, Sincelpagrafi), affiliated to the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP), and the Portuguese Printing, Visual Communication and Paper Converting Industries Association (Associação Portuguesa das Indústrias Gráficas, de Comunicação Visual e Transformadoras do Papel, Apigraf). Following the impasse, all of the initiatives commonly used to overcome labour conflicts were launched – that is, conciliation, mediation and arbitration – however without success.

As these procedures failed to succeed in the preservation of the collective agreement, under Law No. 9/2006 (in Portuguese, 196Kb PDF) of 20 March 2006 in force at the time, only compulsory arbitration (PT0702029I) could prevent the agreement’s termination.

Meanwhile, the trade union organisation Sincelpagrafi accused the employer organisation Apigraf of trying to eliminate the collective agreement, arguing that since 1999 Apigraf had refused to update the minimum wage in the industry.

Compulsory arbitration introduced

In December 2008, the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (Ministério do Trabalho e da Solidariedade Social, MTSS) decided to introduce compulsory arbitration, following a request issued by Sincelpagrafi. Compulsory arbitration may be invoked by the MTSS whenever it has proved impossible to resolve a dispute through voluntary conciliation, mediation or arbitration.

The arbitration tribunal consisted of three arbitrators – one designated by Sincelpagrafi, one assigned by Apigaf, and one appointed from the list of arbitrators of the Economic and Social Council (Conselho Económico e Social, CES). The tribunal commenced its work in January 2009.

The process of compulsory arbitration proved to be successful and assured the revision of the collective agreement. The arbitral decision was published in the official journal, that is the Work and Job Bulletin (Boletim do Trabalho e Emprego, BTE) No. 40 of 29 October 2009, entering into force five days later. This was the first time that compulsory arbitration had ensured the revision of a collective agreement in Portugal.

According to a spokesperson for the MTSS, this unprecedented decision of the arbitral tribunal was considered as ‘a historic moment’. The spokesperson highlighted that this unanimous arbitral decision demonstrates that ‘it it is possible, when all forms of direct negotiation fail, to create a good instrument of collective regulation for the parties, satisfying both, without direct bargaining, and taking into account their interests’.

Main changes introduced in collective agreement

According to the MTSS, the collective agreement for the graphics and printing industry integrates 61 clauses covering all matters deemed necessary for the specificity of the sector – for example, the ‘scheme of adaptability’.

One major innovation mentioned by the MTSS resulted from the work of experts, who were contracted to carry out ‘a deep and thorough update of the occupational categories in the sector’. Such occupational categories, of which there were more than 400, have been immutable since 1977, despite the extensive technological evolution and modernisation that has occurred in the sector over the last 30 years. These categories have now been reduced to less than 100, ‘which brings obvious benefits, particularly in relation to the wage scale and professional advancement’. For the MTSS, the content of this arbitration serves as ‘a good example of what should be a modern collective agreement, updated and adapted to the reality’. The MTSS adds that the content of this collective agreement should inspire direct negotiations in future collective bargaining.

The leader of Sincelpagrafi, Joaquim Silva, acknowledged that the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity, Vieira da Silva, was vital to the outcome of the process. Mr Silva considered the arbitral decision as a defeat for the employer organisation.

On 16 November 2009, Apigraf and the Democratic Trade Union of Communication and Media Workers (Sindicato Democrático dos Trabalhadores das Comunicações e dos Média, Sindetelco), affiliated to the General Workers’ Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores, UGT), concluded an accession agreement (Acordo de Adesão) joining the arbitral decision resulting from the compulsory arbitration. The accession agreement binding UGT to the arbitral decision was published in Portugal’s official journal – BTE No. 44 of 29 November 2009.

Maria da Paz Campos Lima, Dinâmia