Rules of Collective Bargaining Legitimacy in Sectors Without Representative Trade Unions or Employer Associations: The Case of Domestic Household Workers

Commentary on Supreme Court Ruling 386/2025, of 7 May

Abstract

Supreme Court Ruling 386/2025, of 7 May, addresses a claim for the protection of trade union freedom, specifically its aspect concerning the right to collective bargaining, filed by the LAB union against the Basque employers’ association Confebask. The case arose from Confebask's refusal to form the negotiating committee for the first collective agreement in the sector of domestic workers within the Basque Country. The Court held that this refusal was justified, as LAB had failed to demonstrate that it possessed, either alone or in conjunction with other unions, the necessary initial, full, and decisional legitimacy to validly initiate the negotiation process. Furthermore, the Supreme Court emphasized that Confebask lacks a functional link to the sector, which consists of individual employers without any business structure, thus preventing the application of the exceptional legal standing foreseen for sectors lacking sufficient representation. Although it recognizes the legitimate interest of trade unions in regulating these labor relations, the ruling does not address the core of the problem: whether the current regulatory framework adequately addresses the specificities of domestic employment, as required by ILO Convention No. 189.