Worker Representation and Collective Bargaining Essentials

Unit Representatives

Unit representatives represent all workers, union delegates, and representatives within the same sections.

Collective Agreement

Collective agreements, provided by Articles 82 to 92, are agreements between worker representatives and employers. They define working conditions, salaries, and other terms, even for non-mandatory attributes (where negotiation is allowed).

Who Negotiates?

• Business/Entrepreneur Level: Unit representatives.
• Specific Worker Categories (e.g., Iberia pilots): Union sections negotiate for the entire group, not just members.
• Business Sector (Industry Unions/Associations): The most representative unions/associations.

Agreement Application

The agreement applies to all workers and covers working conditions, salaries, etc.

Content Types

• Obligational: Specific obligations for signatories (e.g., social peace clause).
• Minimum/Required: Scope of the convention: personal, functional, geographic, temporal.

Scope

• Field Staff: Senior staff are typically excluded. Focuses on industry working parties.
• Functional Areas: Company-specific agreements, potentially excluding certain departments, considering sectoral agreements.
• Geographical: Sector agreements have regional or state scope.
• Temporary: Minimum 1 year, maximum 5 years. Effective date as agreed, potentially retroactive.

Agreement Withdrawal

Purpose: To negotiate the next agreement. Obligational content disappears upon expiry. If no new agreement is signed by December 31st, the normative content extends until a new one is in place.

Joint Committee

Responsible for interpreting the collective agreement. Internal disputes go to this committee.

Materials Contained in Collective Agreements

1. Recruitment: Trial periods, contracts (especially temporary).
2. Professional Classification: List of categories/occupational groups with specific functions.
3. Working Time: Normal working hours, overtime.
4. Emoluments: Wages.
5. Infractions and Sanctions: Disciplinary dismissals, penalties.
6. Contract Termination: Compensation arrangements.
7. Social Security: Improvements to benefits, pension plans (e.g., mandatory employer insurance for sickness, accident, death, invalidity).
8. Union Benefits: Improvements for worker representatives.

Attendance of Collective Agreements

The Workers' Charter states: Only one collective agreement can apply in a company/field.

Exceptions

1. Negotiated industry agreement.
2. Different collective agreements in the same sector can apply simultaneously (e.g., general agreement, state and provincial agreements). A sectoral agreement sets minimum/maximum (regulatory framework), and another establishes lower terms within that framework. This standardizes working conditions across territories.
3. Territorial Lift: A sectoral agreement allows a lower-level (sectoral, not company) agreement to deviate, provided it's negotiated by authorized parties and doesn't ignore the higher-level agreement. Certain subjects are protected (e.g., trial period, contract termination).