Trade union committee and collective agreement

The trade union committee represents employees (art. 42 LC), while the collective agreement records the working conditions agreed with the employer in writing. The workforce approves the agreement, after which the parties’ representatives sign it. It may run for no more than three years, but remains in force after expiry until it is replaced or amended.

In brief:

• employees may establish a trade union voluntarily and without the employer’s permission;
• the other party must reply to a written bargaining notice and enter negotiations within 7 days (art. 61 LC);
• after approval, the parties’ representatives sign the agreement within 3 days (art. 70 LC), and its maximum term is 3 years (art. 71 LC);
• the collective agreement covers every employee, not only trade union members.

Updated: 04 September 2026

What a trade union committee is

A trade union committee is an elected body that represents and protects employees at the level of an organization or an employer who is an individual. A trade union itself is a voluntary public association (art. 3 of the Trade Unions Law), while a primary trade union organization brings together union members working for one or more employers or studying at one educational institution.

The Constitution provides that trade unions express and protect (art. 73 of the Constitution) employees’ socioeconomic rights and interests and that membership is voluntary. The committee does not act for the employer and does not replace the workforce. The same representative body may not protect both sides of the employment relationship.

The workforce, referred to in the Labor Code as the labor collective, consists of all employees working for the employer under employment contracts. Its general meeting or conference appoints the representative body (art. 36 LC), approves or rejects the collective agreement, and assesses its implementation. The union committee conducts bargaining and ongoing representation, while the workforce takes key decisions by vote.

How a trade union committee is established

Employees may establish a trade union without prior permission (art. 37 LC). The employer may not require anyone to join, leave, or refrain from joining, or make recruitment, bonuses, promotion, or dismissal depend on membership. A written or oral undertaking not to join a union is invalid.

Establishment begins with the employees’ decision, not an employer’s order. The founders convene a congress, conference, or general meeting, adopt the charter, and form the governing bodies. The employer and public authorities may not be founders (art. 19 of the Trade Unions Law) or sit on the governing bodies.

A primary trade union organization may operate with or without legal personality. In the first case, it is formed upon state registration; in the second, it may choose to be recorded by the justice authorities. This is separate from approving a collective agreement: the status of the trade union organization is governed independently.

The relevant union charter determines the rules (art. 7 of the Trade Unions Law) for joining, leaving, and retaining membership after an employment contract ends. The trade union determines its own structure, elects its bodies, and organizes its meetings; employer interference in those decisions is barred by the principle of trade union self-government (art. 9 of the Trade Unions Law).

The law does not impose one committee size or a uniform term of office for every workplace. The charter must address those matters: it sets the powers and formation of bodies (art. 20 of the Trade Unions Law), their terms, membership dues, reporting, sources of property, and reorganization procedure. The meeting resolution electing the committee should therefore follow the charter of the relevant trade union.

Rights of the trade union committee

The committee’s powers extend beyond bargaining. The statutory rights of employee representatives (art. 43 LC) include the right to:

• conduct collective bargaining, conclude collective agreements, and monitor their implementation;
• participate in decisions on social and economic development;
• take part in drafting internal regulations and express consent or objection when the law requires it;
• monitor compliance with labor legislation and agreed internal instruments;
• propose draft labor instruments to the employer;
• propose that authorized bodies suspend mass redundancies;
• obtain information on employment, the organization’s activities, and other socioeconomic matters;
• visit workplaces and obtain information for public oversight;
• defend employees before bodies resolving labor disputes;
• challenge unlawful employer decisions in court and take other lawful action to protect employees.

A primary trade union organization has the priority right (art. 29 of the Trade Unions Law) to bargain and conclude an agreement for the employees it represents. A person representing the employer cannot also act for employees.

To protect employees, a trade union may send applications, complaints, proposals, and requests and obtain certificates and documents. Access may be restricted for personal data, state secrets, and other legally protected secrets, as stated in the rules on applications and requests (art. 38 of the Trade Unions Law).

If mass redundancies are possible, the employer must notify the trade union at least 2 months in advance (art. 30 of the Trade Unions Law) and consult it on mitigating the consequences. The trade union may propose that the local authority suspend the decision for up to six months.

Trade unions are special public-oversight bodies. They may monitor compliance with labor legislation, occupational safety rules, and the agreement; send submissions that the employer must consider; request that responsible persons be held liable; propose stopping dangerous work; inspect occupational safety; enter workplaces; participate in labor disputes; and apply to court (art. 540 LC). The law also permits other trade union oversight powers.

Conditions the employer must provide

The employer must not obstruct the committee, must consult before decisions affecting employees, obtain consent where required, give reasoned written responses, admit representatives to workplaces, and provide the necessary information free of charge. These conditions for representation (art. 45 LC) are mandatory regardless of the employer’s convenience.

Example. With a 40-hour working week, a non-released representative must receive at least 40 × 30% = 12 working hours while retaining average pay. The parties set the precise distribution of those hours in the agreement; they cannot reduce the statutory minimum.

Elected representatives are protected against retaliation. Disciplinary action and employer-initiated dismissal require the prior consent of the relevant representative body; for the head of the committee, consent from the territorial or sectoral employee association is required. This protection continues for 2 years after office (art. 44 LC). A representative released from regular duties must receive the former or an equivalent job when the elected term ends.

Where union-member employees submit written applications, the employer must transfer dues withheld from pay to the union account if that process is provided by the agreement (art. 18 of the Trade Unions Law). This rule does not authorize automatic payroll deductions without an agreement clause and the employees’ applications.

Separately, the Labor Code requires the employer to conduct bargaining, provide complete and accurate information, and consider trade union submissions seeking correction of violations without delay. These general employer duties (art. 25 LC) supplement the specific rules governing the committee.

If the collective agreement requires the committee’s consent for an employer-initiated dismissal, the committee must communicate its written decision within ten days. Once consent is given, the employer has one month to dismiss; consent is not required in the cases listed by the Code. The consent clause and special deadlines (art. 164 LC) should be checked before the dismissal order is issued.

This article explains the committee’s role, not the entire process for ending an employment contract. The article on employee dismissal covers grounds, notices, final payments, and challenges; use it when the employer is considering a specific dismissal.

If there is no trade union committee

The absence of a committee does not deprive employees of representation. If the law requires a matter to be agreed with the committee, the employer must notify the workforce in writing. The workforce has 2 weeks (art. 15 LC) to hold a general meeting or conference and establish a primary trade union organization or another representative body. Only if no meeting is held and no decision is taken may the employer decide the matter independently.

A general meeting has a quorum when more than half of all employees attend. A conference requires at least two thirds of its delegates, and a decision requires more than half the votes of those present. The meeting appoints the body authorized to represent the workforce; the employer cannot appoint that representative by its own order.

Example. In an organization with 60 employees, at least 31 must attend for a valid general meeting. If 31 employees attend, a decision requires at least 16 votes. The minutes should record the total number of employees, attendance, agenda, voting results, and adopted decision so that the representative’s authority can be proved during bargaining.

What a collective agreement is and whether it is required

A collective agreement is a written labor instrument (art. 65 LC) between the employer and employees acting through their representatives. It may be concluded for an organization, an individual entrepreneur, or a separate subdivision. In a subdivision, each party separately authorizes its representative.

The Code allows either side to decide that an agreement is needed: the proposal may come from employees or the employer. A social and labor matters commission must be formed (art. 66 LC) for the draft and bargaining. The employer cannot disregard a formal initiative, because a written notice triggers the duty to enter bargaining within the statutory period.

A workplace collective agreement should not be confused with a higher-level collective bargaining agreement. The latter sets conditions and social entitlements at the territorial, sectoral, or national level (art. 80 LC).

How to conclude a collective agreement

The process begins with written notice. Either side may initiate bargaining; for a replacement agreement, notice may be sent during the three months before the previous agreement expires. Information requested for bargaining must be supplied within 2 weeks (art. 60 LC), subject to state secrets and other legally protected information.

At workplace level, a bilateral commission is formed with an equal number of representatives (art. 49 LC). Employer representatives are approved by employer order, while employee representatives are approved by the union committee’s decision. The commission drafts the agreement, collects information and proposals, involves specialists, monitors implementation, and prepares amendments; its powers continue (art. 55 LC) during the implementation stage.

Where needed, the commission forms a joint working group with equal representation. Each side chooses its own members, while independent academics, experts, and specialists may participate in an advisory capacity (art. 62 LC).

Bargaining participants are released from their regular work for a period agreed by the parties while retaining average pay. An expert is normally paid by the inviting side. During bargaining, an employee representative cannot be disciplined, transferred, or dismissed without consent from the body that authorized the representative; these are the participant protections (art. 64 LC).

Employees discuss the draft within their subdivisions, and the commission considers their proposals and comments. The draft may be sent to a trade union for public examination, after which the revised text goes to the general meeting (art. 69 LC).

The agreement is approved by more than half of those attending a valid general meeting or conference. The parties’ representatives then sign the same agreed text. If some matters remain unresolved, the parties record the agreed points and draw up a disagreement protocol (art. 63 LC) stating measures and a timetable for renewed bargaining; any remaining dispute follows the collective labor dispute procedure.

What to include in the collective agreement

The parties determine the agreement’s structure, but the law gives a broad list of permitted commitments (art. 67 LC). If another law expressly requires a matter to be recorded in the collective agreement, it becomes mandatory content.

• the form, system, and amount of pay, monetary awards, benefits, compensation, and supplements;
• a mechanism for adjusting pay for prices, inflation, and agreed performance indicators;
• employment, retraining, skills development, and redundancy conditions;
• working time, rest time, and leave;
• improved working conditions and occupational safety, including for women, persons with disabilities, and employees under eighteen, and environmental safety;
• consideration of employee interests when the organization or employer-provided housing is privatized;
• benefits for employees combining work and study;
• voluntary medical and social insurance;
• the amount and timing of additional employer contributions to individual funded pension accounts;
• implementation control, liability of the parties, and normal operating conditions for the union committee.

Subject to the employer’s economic capacity, the agreement may add more favorable terms: additional leave, pension supplements, early retirement, reimbursement of transport and business-trip costs, meals, payment for mobile service and Internet, loans, and higher-education fees. Each payment or benefit should identify the recipient, entitlement condition, amount or formula, due date, source of funding, and responsible person; otherwise implementation is difficult to monitor.

A separate law requires clauses on the equal rights of women and men (art. 22 of the Equal Rights Law): the agreement must appoint a responsible person, ensure equal opportunity in recruitment and promotion, eliminate pay inequality, and facilitate the combination of employment and family responsibilities.

The agreement may not contain terms that disadvantage employees compared with legislation or an applicable collective bargaining agreement, permit discrimination or forced labor, or exceed matters that can be decided locally. Such terms are invalid (art. 68 LC), but they do not invalidate the whole agreement.

Pay amounts, payment dates, and additional entitlements must be aligned with mandatory rules. The separate articles on salary and leave explain the statutory minimum; consult them before converting draft promises into amounts and calendar rules.

Who the agreement covers and how long it lasts

The agreement covers the employer and every employee in the organization, including anyone hired after it comes into force. Trade union membership is irrelevant. An agreement for a separate subdivision covers all employees in that subdivision (art. 72 LC).

It enters into force on signature or on the date specified in the agreement. Its term cannot exceed three years. After expiry, the old text remains in force until the parties conclude a new agreement or amend the existing one; the parties may also extend it before expiry.

Any amendments and additions follow the same procedure (art. 77 LC) as the original agreement: bargaining, commission work, discussion, approval, and signatures. An employer’s unilateral order or a union committee decision alone cannot replace that process.

Monitoring implementation and resolving disagreements

The parties’ representatives, the social and labor matters commission, the workforce, and authorized public bodies monitor implementation. The parties’ representatives report to the general meeting annually or at the intervals stated in the agreement; this is a mandatory report (art. 79 LC), not an optional meeting.

If the employer breaches the agreement, the trade union may send a submission requiring the violation to be corrected. It must be considered within 1 week (art. 46 of the Trade Unions Law). If correction is refused or no agreement is reached, the disagreement is handled under the statutory procedure; materials may also be sent to the State Labor Inspectorate or law-enforcement authorities.

The employer may not obstruct lawful representative activity or terminate it on its own initiative. Obstruction gives rise to liability (art. 47 LC). The appropriate remedy depends on the breach: a union submission, an application to the inspectorate, a labor disputes commission, collective conciliation, or court proceedings.

This section covers monitoring of the collective agreement itself. The article on labor disputes explains written employee demands, response periods, the conciliation commission, mediation, labor arbitration, and court proceedings; use it when bargaining or implementation has become a dispute.

What employees should check before approval

Employees need the final text before voting, not a list of promises. Check that the employee representative is properly authorized by the workforce or union charter, that the commission has equal representation, that subdivision proposals have been considered, and that the version put to a vote is the version to be signed.

Financial and social clauses should clearly state the recipient, entitlement condition, amount or formula, payment date, source of funds, and responsible person. Working time, leave, training, occupational safety, and dismissal-consent clauses need specific procedures and deadlines. No term may reduce rights granted by legislation or an applicable collective bargaining agreement.

The meeting minutes should prove the quorum and number of votes. The agreement should state its term, commencement date, reporting procedure, control records, action after a breach, and amendment procedure. Once it comes into force, every employee must acknowledge it in writing, while each new employee must do so when entering the employment contract.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employer conclude a collective agreement without a trade union?

If there is no union committee, the workforce may establish a primary trade union organization or another representative body. The authorized employee representative bargains and signs for employees. The employer cannot appoint its own counterparty. The representative’s authority is evidenced by a resolution of a valid general meeting or conference, and the workforce must then approve the agreement separately.

Does the agreement cover employees who are not union members?

Yes. The collective agreement covers every employee in the organization or relevant separate subdivision, including anyone hired after it comes into force. Trade union membership governs the member’s internal relationship with the union and payment of dues, but does not limit the collective agreement’s coverage.

Must a collective agreement be registered with the labor inspectorate?

The Labor Code expressly requires notification registration for territorial, sectoral, and national collective bargaining agreements. For a workplace collective agreement, the relevant chapter requires written form, employee discussion, workforce approval, signatures, and employee acknowledgment. The two instruments therefore should not be confused or processed under the same formalities.

Can a collective agreement run for more than three years?

No. Its initial term cannot exceed three years. Expiry does not leave employees without agreed rules: the agreement continues until the parties conclude a new one or amend the existing text. The parties may also extend it before the stated term ends, using their agreed procedure.

Must the union committee always consent to an employee’s dismissal?

No. Prior consent is required when an applicable collective bargaining agreement or workplace collective agreement contains that requirement, subject to the Labor Code’s exceptions. Before dismissing, the employer must therefore check both the Code and the applicable social-partnership instruments. Elected employee representatives also receive separate statutory protection.