The state has shown little or no interest in promoting collective agreements at branch level. There is currently no labour legislation specifying the scope of branch-level collective bargaining. By failing to specify the rules needed to make it viable, the law neither fosters nor guarantees collective bargaining.
Telefónica del Peru, one of the most profitable companies in the country, is sticking to its policy of refusing branch-level collective bargaining, systematically rejecting the collective bargaining rights of employees of companies that form part of the Telefónica Group in Peru. As a result, discrimination in terms of working conditions is suffered by workers employed by companies not directly owned by Telefónica del Perú, but which provide services and operations for it and belong to the telecommunications sector.
In August 2011, the Chilean company Ripley finally agreed to engage in the collective negotiations it had been refusing to hold since 2010 with the Sindicato Único de Trabajadores del Grupo Ripley (Sutragisa). The union’s demands were aimed at improving pay and working conditions for Ripley’s 5,000 workers. An agreement was ultimately reached in October 2011 under pressure from the Labour Ministry, urging the company to discuss the union’s demands.