Agreement concluded in writing between employer and employees, the collective labor contract establishes clauses for the working conditions, payroll and other rights and obligations arising from the labor relations under Article 229, paragraph (1) of the Labor Code.

The collective bargaining agreement is, on one hand, a normative document and, on the other hand, a contractual one, as shown in paragraph (4) of Art. 229 of the Labor Code: “The collective labor contracts, concluded under the legal provisions, is the law of the parties.”

Besides the essential terms, salaries and working conditions, there are a number of terms that should be the subject of the bargaining and should be included in the content of the collective labor agreement:

• The working time and the rest time;
• The annual leaves and the days off;
• The health and the safety at work;
• The professional training;
• The rights and the obligations of the parties;
• The labor protection and the social security.

The concluding of the collective labor agreement is not a mandatory consequence of the collective bargaining. Mandatory is only the collective bargaining at the unit, unless the employer has fewer than 21 employees, according to art. 229, paragraph (2) of the Labor Code.

Legal note (article 229 of the Labor Code) Art. 229 (1) The collective labor agreement is the agreement concluded in writing between the employer or employers’ organization, on one hand and the employees represented by unions or otherwise provided by law, on the other hand, setting out the terms on working conditions, salaries and other rights and obligations arising from labor relations. (2) The collective bargaining at the unit level is mandatory, unless the employer has fewer than 21 employees. (3) At the conclusion of the bargaining clauses and of the collective labor agreements, the parties are equal and free. (4) The collective labor contracts, concluded with the legal provisions, is the law of the parties.

The collective labor agreement: issues to keep in mind in bargaining and drafting

When negotiation and hen the collective labor agreement is written, the following aspects shall be taken into account:

• The terms of the collective labor agreement can not establish rights and obligations other than in the limits and the conditions provided by law;
• The legal provisions regarding the rights of employees have a minimal character;
• The collective labor agreement can not establish rights to levels below those established by the collective agreements applicable to the branch level;
• The periodic renegotiation of any clause due between the parties may be stipulated in the collective labor agreement.

The annexes of the collective agreement may include:

• The pay scale coefficient ranking, as appropriate;
• The plan for the professional training;
• The internal regulation;
• The minutes for the bargaining the collective labor agreement signed by the same persons who also sign the agreement.

The collective labor agreement shall be signed on each page by the social partners, have to have the unit and the trade union organization stamp (if applicable). The bargaining commission signatures from employers and from the union / employee representatives must be written on the final page of the contract.

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