C 1.4. What is the mechanism in use in Collective Bargaining Instruments?
The law allows the parties to enter into collective bargaining instruments. Today, those instruments can be summed up as Collective Employment Agreements (Trade Union vs. Labor Union) and/or Collective Bargaining Agreements (companies and labor entities). Those instruments must be filed with the Regional Labor Offices and can be effective for up to 2 years. On a given categorys reference date, salary clauses, which follow the free negotiation criterion, and social clauses are determined. A refusal to negotiate or the impossibility to enter into a Collective Employment/Bargaining Agreement may lead the parties to commence a collective bargaining procedure (according to the latest labor statutes, provided that the procedure is commenced by mutual agreement between the parties). Collective bargaining instruments are of complementary nature, i.e. the clauses subject to negotiation cannot prevail over the legislation. If two collective bargaining instruments (a collective employment agreeme
