Key Aspects of Collective Agreements in Labor Law

Legal Effectiveness of Collective Agreements

Rules Governing Legal Effectiveness (Important)

Collective agreements oblige all employers and employees within their scope throughout their time of validity (vigencia).

Effects of Collective Agreements

1. Implementation of Mandatory and Automatic Terms: This excludes the possibility of establishing employment contracts worse than the agreement, emphasizing the indispensability of the collective agreement.
2. Application of the Principle of Publicity: The agreement must be published in the corresponding Official Gazette.
3. Contractual Liability: If the agreement is breached, contractual liability is individually enforceable judicially.
4. Challenging on Appeal: There is the possibility of challenging the agreement on appeal.

Duration and Termination of Collective Agreements

Duration and Entry into Force

The duration and date of entry into force of the Convention are freely set by the negotiating parties. Agreements are usually of short duration, allowing for frequent innovation. If nothing is specified, the agreement comes into force 20 days after publication in the newsletter.

Termination of the Agreement (Denunciation)

The complaint (denunciation) is a condition for the agreement's validity to be terminated. In the absence of denunciation, the agreement is automatically extended for one year, and so on from year to year. Parties may agree on an extension greater or less than the legal term. The complaint must be in writing.

Article 86.3 of the Workers' Statute

Once an agreement is denounced, and until a specific new agreement is reached, its obligational terms lose force. The validity of the normative content, once the agreed period has passed, will occur in the terms established in the Convention itself; failing agreement, the regulatory content will remain in place.

Adhesion and Extension of Collective Agreements

Adherence to Conventions

Before opening a negotiating process, parties may choose to adhere to a collective agreement negotiated in the industry or another company, instead of studying every point. This is usually done because it is difficult to agree on everything, especially if they involve different populations.

Extension of Agreements

If an agreement cannot be negotiated in a given area because there are no subjects with full initial legitimacy, that territorial level or business sector would have no agreement. Subjects lacking full initial legitimacy may ask the Ministry of Labor to extend an existing collective agreement to their businesses, expanding the body of the agreement (it never extends obligations). The extension lasts until the subjects achieve full legitimacy or until the extended collective agreement ends.