Andorra Approves Labour Code Reform to Boost Worker Representation
Unanimous General Council vote introduces company delegates for small firms and enhances union-employer dialogue, addressing gaps after six years of.
Key Points
- Unanimous approval creates company delegates for firms up to 30 employees, works councils for larger ones.
- Enhances protections for election candidates and allows employer-initiated processes on worker requests.
- Addresses low representation (only 17 companies currently) in small-business dominated Andorra.
- Opposition views it as positive first step but urges deeper changes for European standards.
The General Council approved an amendment to the Labour Relations Code on Thursday by unanimous consent, introducing measures to enhance worker representation in companies and promote social dialogue between employers and unions.
Labour Minister Conxita Marsol, who oversees Presidency, Economy, Work and Housing, defended the changes as a product of broad consensus reached in the Economic and Social Council. She highlighted the current law's limitations after more than six years, with only 17 companies—mainly in the public or foundational sectors—having employee representatives. The reform targets Andorra's business fabric, dominated by small firms, by creating company delegates for workplaces with up to 30 employees and retaining works councils for larger ones. It bolsters protections for unsuccessful election candidates for six months, allows exceeding the two-term consecutive limit, and opens election processes to initiation by employers or the Labour Department upon anonymous request from 10% of the workforce.
"This is an important reform born from unions and employers," Marsol said, adding that it addresses gaps where "nobody gets involved if they feel unprotected." The government views it as aligning legislation with local realities, improving collective bargaining, and fulfilling commitments under the European Social Charter.
Opposition reactions were cautiously positive but called for more. Social Democrats leader Susanna Vela praised the employer-union agreement after two legislatures of delay but deemed the measures "limited and insufficient," citing flaws in the 2018 law and urging reforms on non-causal dismissals, which she sees as conflicting with the European Social Charter.
Concòrdia's deputy group leader Nùria Segués called it "a first step" to boost participation in a tourism-reliant economy with irregular hours, stressing the need for balanced relations and a participation culture. Demòcrates deputy leader Maria Martisella commended the CES's role in forging consensus.
Several parties agreed that deeper reforms remain necessary to build a more equitable labour model in line with European standards.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: