Collective Agreement Effects: A Comprehensive Analysis

Summary teaching the theory of the effects of the collective agreement on the wording of a double top, namely:

1. Principle of the Ripple Effect

In consequence of which the provisions of the Convention apply equally to workers hired before, during, and after its term (articles 508, 509, 524 LOT). Likewise, this principle refers to the collective agreement applies not only to union members that have signed but also to workers not affiliated to that organization, being indifferent to it, or be affiliated with other minority unions.

2. Principle of Automatic Effect

Under which the provisions of the collective agreement clauses become mandatory and an integral part of individual employment contracts concluded or concluded during its validity, with the exception of the cases under Articles 509 (Managers and employees trust) and 510 (represented by the employer in the discussion and conclusion of the convention).

In a second-order effect, the convention should apply in all departments or branches of the company, even if these are settled in different jurisdictions.

Finally, Article 522 of the Labor Act states the responsibility of the association against the employer and workers, the effect of a breach of the collective agreement.

Venezuelan legislation for collective agreements also has the following effects:

1. On Individual Employment Contracts Concluded Before the Collective Agreement:

• For members of associations pactantes: Under Article 508 of the LOT, the effects of the convention included in the employer or employers who have contracted directly or through the union to which they belong, and workers in the respective union.
• Of the non-union workers celebrant of the convention: Article 508 of the Act incorporates the most important doctrinal effect of the collective agreement, which, ultimately, gives it a distinctive profile similar to the law: its binding effect on the contracts of other employees in the firm indifferent the convention, or even opposed to it, provided they belong to the same profession or occupation subject to regulation.

2. On Individual Contracts Entered Into After Collective Bargaining Agreement:

Article 509 of the Labor Act provides that another ripple effect of collective bargaining.

3. Exemptions

The persons who hold positions of leadership and trust may be exempt from the mandatory application of general rules of contract clauses.