How negotiators are transformed into mediators. Labor conflict mediation in Andalusia

AbstractIn this paper we describe and analyze the Extrajudicial System for Labor Conflict Resolution in Andalusia. We begin by emphasizing the major relevance of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in a European context and the need to benefit from different ADR experiences. Next, we comment on the situation in Spain and focus on the Andalusia's system. This system was created by an interprofessional agreement between the most representative employers’ union and the two largest trade unions with the support of the national government. During the first fourteen years more than 4,500 conflicts have been submitted affecting more than 400,000 companies and 3,000,000 employees. Collective mediations are conducted by a team of four mediators, two of them appointed by the principal employers association, and the two other by the two largest trade unions