A collective agreement is concluded between the organization’s employees and management. This is a document that regulates the social and labor relations of the parties. Consider for how long a collective agreement is concluded and what are the main nuances of its execution.
The concept
A collective agreement means a local legal document that is drawn up and signed between a team of employees and the employer represented by their legal representatives. The conclusion of a collective agreement takes place to regulate social and labor relations at the enterprise.
Unlike an individual labor agreement, a collective agreement is not required to be concluded, but nevertheless it takes place in large organizations.
Basic goals
The main goals of drafting a collective agreement include:
- Stabilization of labor relations between employees and superiors.
- Supporting employee motivation to solve labor problems.
- Maintaining material interest of employees for applying creative approaches in the performance of work duties.
- Bringing to a unified system of remuneration.
- Optimization and management of organization wage costs.
- Improving the conditions of social protection of employees.
The objectives of the agreement can be regulated by the team, as well as expand at its discretion.
Parties
The conclusion of a collective labor contract occurs between the employees of the enterprise and directly by the employer (or his authorized person).
The representative of the head of the organization may be his deputy, the head of the personnel department, the chief lawyer or a third party. Any elected body may speak on behalf of employees. Usually such a body is a trade union organization. These parties determine the general content of the document, as well as for how long a collective agreement is concluded. Typically, such an agreement has somewhat broader obligations than an individual agreement.
Affiliate Agreement
Often there are times when a collective agreement is concluded throughout the organization. Then its conditions must be observed by all employees listed in the company.
If the agreement is signed by a specific branch or division, then this document will be valid only in it. This requirement is regulated by Art. 43 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
For foreign representations of Russian companies there are no distinctive rules for collective bargaining. Therefore, any foreign branch of a Russian company can prepare its own version of the agreement. The main condition is compliance with labor laws and the general laws of the state in whose territory the representative office is located.
To save themselves from unnecessary work, branches of Russian companies abroad simply use samples of the main office.
Content
The collective agreement includes the following items:
- The form of remuneration, its system and size, various remuneration, compensation payments, benefits and surcharges.
- The essence of regulation of cash payments based on the level of inflation, price increases, performance indicators; advanced training, retraining, employee employment.
- Schedule of working hours and rest, vacation schedule; labor protection conditions for employees, including women and adolescents.
- Medical and social insurance conditions.
- Respecting the interests of employees during the transfer of the organization to another owner.
- Conditions for protecting the health of workers, environmental safety at the enterprise.
- Indication for how long a collective agreement is concluded.
- Availability of benefits for those employees who combine study and work.
- Monitoring the implementation of the terms of the agreement, the responsibility of both parties, ensuring optimal conditions for the work of the trade union and other authorized bodies.
- Refusal of strikes.
The collective agreement, taking into account the economic capabilities of the organization, may contain other conditions: preferential, social, economic, etc.
The procedure for concluding a collective agreement, its terms and development, the commission, and the place of negotiations should be determined by mutual agreement of both parties, which, in turn, is supported by an order for organization.
The timing
The beginning of the agreement is the day when it is signed by both parties. An agreement is concluded based on the results of negotiations between the employer and the labor collective (their authorized parties).
The term for concluding a collective agreement varies from one year to three years. For a longer period of time, agreements of this type are not concluded.
The decision of the commission shall be deemed valid if more than 50% of the participants voted to sign the agreement.
Is an extension possible
Given the provisions of labor law, the parties can extend the term of the agreement after the expiration of the previous one. This fact allows you to make a clause on the automatic renewal of a document in a collective agreement.
But the conclusion of collective bargaining agreements and agreements, as well as their extension, cannot exceed a period of more than three years.
Automatically the document will be renewed only if, after the end of the action, the previous parties do not speak out against this action. But by law, both employees and the employer may express a desire to draw up a new agreement. Accordingly, the previous document will be canceled along with its terms and conditions.
It is important to remember that the agreement must contain a clause on the validity periods and the terms of automatic renewal. In other cases, this process will be declared unlawful and contrary to labor law.
Conversation
Collective bargaining can be initiated from either side. This is expressed in sending one of the parties a written proposal to start negotiations. The other party must enter into negotiations within a week from the receipt of the proposal by sending a letter in response indicating the persons who will be members of the collective bargaining commission and designating their powers.
The day that follows the day the response is received is the beginning of collective bargaining. The terms, procedure and place of negotiations should be determined by authorized parties.
If the initiator is the primary trade union, a single representative body or other authorized person representing the organization’s employees, then along with the direction of the start of negotiations, it is necessary to notify all trade union organizations that unite employees of one enterprise about this fact. Within five days, a single representative body should be created, which employees will choose.
In a situation where the answer is not received or it is negative, collective negotiations may begin without the participation of representatives. But the primary trade union, which does not participate in the negotiations, has the right to send its candidate to the representative body within a month.
Collective bargaining and collective bargaining in a separate division of an organization implies endowing the necessary authority with the head of this division or a third party in accordance with the law and other regulations. The right to represent employees of the unit is received by their representative, which is provided for in parts 2-6 of Art. 37 of the Labor Code.
The following is considered an important point - each of the parties must present to each other no later than 14 days from the moment of the request all the information necessary for negotiating.
If during the negotiations some provisions provoked controversial reactions and no agreement was reached on them, then within 3 months from the start of the process, the parties must sign a collective agreement on those positions that suit everyone, and at the same time sign a protocol of disagreement. Later, collective bargaining may also be held on these provisions.
Registration
Within a week from the moment of signing the agreement, the document must be sent by the employer or his authorized person for notification registration to the appropriate authority. This body must identify all conditions that may worsen the position of employees in accordance with labor law and other regulations. Further, the results are reported to representatives of the parties that signed the contract, and the state labor inspectorate. Those conditions that may worsen the situation of employees should be excluded from the agreement.
But this fact does not affect the entry into force of the contract itself. All amendments, changes and additions may be made in the manner specified in the agreement.
The fulfillment of the prescribed conditions must be monitored by the parties to the social partners or their representatives.
Warranties and Compensation
For how long a collective labor contract is concluded and how negotiations are conducted, we examined. Now we turn to the guarantees and compensations that are provided to persons participating in the negotiations. This includes:
- persons exempted from work with the preservation of wages for a period determined by agreement of the parties, but not more than 3 months;
- any costs associated with the participation of negotiations should be compensated in the manner prescribed by law and other regulations, as well as a collective agreement. Payment for the services of third-party specialists is made by the inviting party, unless otherwise provided by the provisions of the agreement;
- representatives from employees at the time of collective bargaining, without the consent of the authorities authorizing them to represent, cannot be disciplined, transferred to another place of work or be dismissed (except for cases provided for by labor law, namely those acts for which dismissal is provided )
Termination
The labor code governs how long a collective agreement is concluded, and also under what circumstances it can be terminated.
Such cases include the following points:
- expiration of the agreement;
- liquidation of the organization (after the corresponding process);
- change of ownership of the enterprise (within 90 days);
- after the reorganization of the company.