Analysing the aspects involved in terminating a term in office for workers’ representatives

Abstract

The right of workers to participate in the running of their employer company is carried through in a number of ways: trade union representation, unitary representation, staff delegates and company committees. After their election, members of representative bodies are given a term in office to defend general collective interests. This term in office, therefore, cannot be understood as a mere subjective right or a personal privilege, but rather as a function insofar as it entails duties aimed at promoting and defending the professional interests of the represented collective. It is precisely the functional character of this representation that can give rise to the termination of a term of office when a series of very specific reasons come to pass, some of which are related to the representative no longer meeting eligibility requirements and others to the actual functioning of the collective structure. Of all of these reasons this article looks at the relevant legislation on the subject (especially art. 67 ET) and the judicial decisions that interpret it, offering as exhaustive an analysis as possible.