In many Western countries, collective agreements are as important as the legislative sources of labor law, and often their importance in the legal regulation of labor exceeds the role of statutory norms. In Ukraine, the basic principles, procedure for drafting and concluding collective agreements are regulated by Law of Ukraine “On Collective Agreements and Treaties” No. 3356-XII of July 1, 1993 (hereinafter – Law No. 3356), the Commercial Code of Ukraine (hereinafter – the Commercial Code) and the labor Code of Ukraine (hereinafter – the Labor Code). About features of the conclusion and conducting of the collective agreement – further.
The collective agreement is concluded on the basis of the current legislation, the obligations accepted by the parties and coordination of interests of workers, owners and the bodies authorized by them.
The procedure for concluding a collective agreement covers several stages:
- preparation for collective bargaining;
- collective bargaining and drafting a collective agreement;
- conclusion of a collective agreement, its signing and registration.
In addition, collective bargaining involves changes and additions to the collective agreement during its term and control over its implementation.
According to Law No. 3356, either party may take the initiative to start collective bargaining to develop and conclude a collective agreement. If the company has a collective agreement, such initiative may be identified no earlier than three months before the expiration of its validity, or within the time specified therein.
At the newly created enterprise according to Chapter 8, Art. 9 of Law No. 3356 collective agreement is concluded on the initiative of one of the parties within three months after its registration.
The party initiating the negotiations on the conclusion of a collective agreement must notify the other party in writing, which must begin negotiations within seven days.
Prior to the start of negotiations, each party must form an authorized body (working commission) to negotiate with an equal number of representatives.
1. The owner or the authorized body or the person defined by the charter of the enterprise.
The company's charter should stipulate that the director has the right to perform the following actions on behalf of the company without a power of attorney: manage current affairs, implement decisions of higher authorities, represent the company in its relations with third parties, negotiate and enter into agreements.
2. The representatives elected at the general meeting of employees (the meeting elects the authorized representatives (council of the labor collective) and draws up the minutes of the meeting).
It should be noted that the law does not set a deadline for collective bargaining, this must be agreed by the parties. In practice, negotiations usually last about three months.
The beginning of negotiations is considered to be the day of the first meeting of the working committee, their end – the day of signing the collective agreement approved by the general meeting (conference) of the labor collective.
After approval of the draft collective agreement by the general meeting (conference), it must be signed by the authorized representatives of the parties no later than five days after its approval, unless otherwise determined by the meeting (conference).
The general meeting (conference) of the labor collective must determine the deadline for submission of the collective agreement for registration to the local body of state executive authority. Together with the collective agreement for registration all appendices to it, the protocol of disagreements, structure of the working commission are submitted.
The collective agreement enters into force on the day of its signing or on the date specified therein. The entry into force of the agreement does not depend on the fact of its registration.
Collective agreements are subject to notification registration by local state executive bodies. The procedure for registration of collective agreements was approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 115 of February 13, 2013 (hereinafter – Resolution No. 115).
In accordance with paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 115, notification registration is carried out in order to establish the authenticity of duplicates and copies of collective agreements submitted for registration to ensure that their conditions are taken into account during consideration by authorized bodies of labor disputes (individual and collective) which may take place as a result of performance of terms provided in these agreements.
