Resumen: 1 Desde los años 1970, las tasas de sindicalización han experimentado una baja en gran parte del mundo occidental y Chile no ha estado ajeno a esta evolución. Este artículo se propone dos objetivos: en primer lugar, mostrar la débil reacción del mundo político, científico y sindical chileno a esta tendencia. En segundo lugar, identificar las "ideologías de representatividad" que explican la indiferencia de los sindicatos chilenos a la caída de sus tasas de sindicalización. En base a entrevistas en profundidad a dirigentes sindicales, distinguimos tres ideologías de esta naturaleza: una ideología "neorevolucionaria", "político-pragmática" y "neoliberal". Se argumenta que dado el predominio de la primera en la principal central sindical nacional, la pregunta por cómo fortalecer la sindicalización ha quedado marginada en el debate público.

Scholars interested in labour in Latin America have traditionally paid little attention to trade unions’ legal mobilisation. However, the increasing number of legal complaints filed by workers with labour ministries and/or the courts in countries like Argentina, Brazil and Chile calls for a more serious debate on the role that trade unions play in this process. This article focuses on the Chilean case. Drawing on various sources, it shows that Chilean unions have turned legal complaints into a weapon to gain more rights and curb employers’ power. This process has involved the strongest and most combative unions, and is due to two historical conditions: (1) the obstacles placed in the way of successful resort to more disruptive tactics; (2) the increase in institutional opportunities to report infringements of the law. Overall, the article challenges the current image of the Chilean unions by foregrounding their agency and their achievements over the last decade.

Resumen: Desde la recuperación de la democracia en 1990, la movilización legal se ha vuelto una estrategia clave en el repertorio de acción del movimiento sindical chileno. Los sindicatos recurren cada vez más a la Dirección del Trabajo o los tribunales para contestar el poder de los empresarios y presionar al Estado para lograr cambios en el orden laboral heredado de la dictadura. En base a entrevistas a distintos actores, este artículo evalúa los efectos de este fenómeno para los trabajadores. Defiende que la movilización legal ha permitido a los sindicatos ganar ciertos derechos y ampliar su margen de maniobra en las empresas. Sin embargo, no ha generado cambios sustanciales en el orden laboral chileno. El artículo identifica dos causas de esto: 1) los efectos no deseados del uso de esta estrategia en la fuerza de la organización sindical; 2) los cambios en la orientación de la DT y los tribunales.Abstract: Since the recovery of democracy in 1990, legal mobilization has become a key strategy for the Chilean union movement. Trade unions increasingly turn to the Labor Department or the courts for challenging the employers' power and putting pressure over the State to make changes on the labor order. Based on interviews with different labor actors, this article evaluates the effects of this phenomenon for workers. It argues that legal mobilization has allowed unions to gain certain rights and expand their margin of action in companies. However, this strategy has not produced substantial changes in the inherited labor order. The article identifies two causes of this: 1) the undesirable effects of the use of this strategy on the strength of the trade union organization; 2) changes in the orientation of the Labor Department and the courts.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss why and how the notion of sustainability has been integrated to the practices of HRM in Chile. Especially, it examines how the union‒management relationship shapes and is shaped by the adoption of a sustainable approach. By doing so, it contributes to a broader debate about HRM in Latin America. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a case study conducted between 2016 and 2018 in two large companies. In each of these companies, besides the analysis of internal and administrative documentation, human resource managers, line managers and union officers were interviewed. Findings In this paper, two main findings are discussed. First, the sustainable HRM idea installed in Chile has not involved a total renunciation of some old ideological frames, but rather an adjustment of these. The old paternalist managerialism is shaping a path to a new HRM model, willing to yield part of its control to workers, but not less unitarist in its foundations. Second, the sustainable HRM concept adoption by the studied companies is not primarily motivated by economic goals as it may have occurred in other contexts, but by the need of a solution to labour conflicts in a context of union action renewal. Practical implications This research could be used to teach about leadership, strategy and sustainability, highlighting the importance of understanding the contested nature of the employment relations within these processes of changing. To accomplish this, HR practitioners need to get more involved with pluralistic perspectives in labour relations and thus achieve effective sustainable practices in the workplace. It is also relevant that unions recognise and strengthen their ability to influence these policies. Originality/value This paper sheds lights on how the concept of sustainable HRM has been introduced in Latin America, which has been slightly discussed in mainstream scientific literature. It also provides empirical evidence about unexplored and recent changes in HRM and proposes new perspectives for the study of this topic in the region, considering variables as the managerial ideologies, current labour disputes and the relevance of trade union voice.

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