The UGT Castilla y León suspended its own union elections for its Palencia workers, who were due to elect a staff delegate at the end of September. In this case, the UGT intervenes as a company and employer and at the same time as a union, since the Palencia workers are affiliated to the UGT.
In a letter to which this newspaper had access, the organizational secretary of the autonomous direction of the UGT, Óscar Lobo, informed the Territorial Labor Office (OTT) of Palencia that the UGT, as company, gave up organizing the electoral process. . Which no company can do since it cannot intervene in workers’ elections. The electoral table was to be established on September 30, but this letter was sent to the OTT on Thursday 26 at 1:51 p.m.
The workers learned of this statement through the OTT itself, which accepted the letter, but did not proceed with this process because companies cannot intervene in a union process, according to sources unions. However, the UGT workers considered this letter as a threat from the company and decided not to constitute the electoral table (made up of the oldest worker and the oldest and youngest voters) as foreseen.
The process was therefore paralyzed and the electoral notice was allowed to “die”. In other words, the mandate of the current staff delegate is extended, because neither an electoral calendar has been established nor any of the workers presented themselves as staff delegate. It was not even officially known who would show up, because normally candidates are only announced once the polling station has been established. If workers wanted to elect a new staff representative, the process would have to be started again, since the previous process collapsed.
Union sources consulted by this newspaper express their disbelief at the reaction of the UGT company, since no company is allowed to “abstain” or intervene in the workers’ electoral process. The company, in any case, must facilitate the process by providing the census and a space to vote, for example.
The Workers’ Statute states that when a company has between six and ten workers (as is the case of the Palencia UGT), they can decide if they want a staff delegate, who will be elected by a free vote , personal, secret and direct. . This staff representative is the legal representative of the workers before the company.
Leaders of other unions consulted by this newspaper explain that an employer cannot give up. “This is not possible,” they insist. In an ordinary process, workers declare that they want to elect the staff delegate directly or through one of the two majority unions (UGT and CCOO). And the process could only be revoked with a writing from all workers. The company could also cite other legal issues in forming the board of directors, but not before then. And even less renounce an electoral process.
Lobo was also coordinator of union elections within the National Federation of Services, Mobility and Consumption of the UGT.
