Renewing the social contract through an active trade union participation: the case of domestic workers reforms in Uruguay

• In Event: Precariousness and labor organization

Abstract

The nature of the policymaking process (PMP) in Latin American countries changed during the 2000s. This shift has been linked to left-wing governments in the region, along to the regional commodities boom experienced in the 2000s. However, countries like Uruguay faced a different pattern in their labour policies. The arrival of Frente Amplio to power in Uruguay and its tight relationship with trade unions, facilitated a fast and deep implementation of several labour: the re-institutionalization of collective bargaining, the extension of its coverage to domestic and rural workers, and legal enforcement of labour rights.
The Uruguayan case highlights the importance of an active relationship between trade unions and progressive governments in implementing and extending socioeconomic reforms. Labour policy reforms in Uruguay show that an active trade union participation for enforcing labour rights of formal workers, does not necessarily exclude informal workers, contradicting the insider-outsider theory suggestions.
This paper argues that institutional legacies and trade unions direct participation in the policymaking play an important role, particularly for labour reforms. The expansion and legal enforcement of labour rights to informal employees such as domestic workers, particularly through collective bargaining, provides a key evidence that domestic workers can be included in the coverage of collective agreements. In doing so, Frente Amplio articulated the provision of institutional infrastructure and the support from trade unions. The Uruguayan left-wing coalition support was crucial not just to facilitate the feasibility of collective bargaining for domestic workers but also to empower domestic workers trade union organisations.

Author

• Juan Velasco