El poder institucional de los sindicatos estatales. Aportes analíticos desde los casos de salud y educación públicas en Neuquén y Buenos Aires (2005-2016)

Abstract

In this article we consider the importance of institutional power as one of the dimensions of union power of state workers, based on an analysis of the public health and education sectors in Neuquén and Buenos Aires during the post-convertibility period. While in the case of private sector workers and organizations the analysis of institutional power occupies a subsidiary place, in public sector union organizations it becomes central. It should be taken into account that this the workers themselves are part of the structures of the State, which is responsible for regulating working conditions and settling union conflicts. Based on the reflection on three events registered in our field work , we suggest some indicators that allow for a more complex analysis of the institutional power of state union organizations: the analysis of the disputes to obtain the personería gremial, the outcome of provincial political crises resulting from a union conflict within the State, and union participation in the institutional processes of public policy definition.