Collective Bargaining Agreement
Collective bargaining agreements are contracts under private law between employee and employer organizations that are parties to the agreement. Their primary purpose is to address the typical imbalance between employers and employees. The collective bargaining agreement itself generally consists of a contractual section and a normative section.
The section on the law of obligations governs the legal relationships between the parties involved in the conclusion of the collective agreement and must be interpreted in accordance with §§ 914 et seq. of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB). These include, in particular, the rights and obligations arising from the agreement and the so-called “duties to promote compliance.” This refers to the duty to promote compliance with the collective bargaining agreement.
The normative part, on the other hand, constitutes a separate source of law (a law in the substantive sense) that directly affects the employment relationships governed by the collective bargaining agreement. This part is therefore interpreted in the same manner as laws under Sections 6 and 7 of the ABGB. In particular, it can regulate the rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship.
Furthermore, provisions governing changes to collective bargaining entitlements for former employees, measures to prevent, eliminate, and mitigate the consequences of a change in operations, joint institutions of the collective bargaining parties, and the nature and scope of the workforce’s right to participate in certain areas. It is also worth noting the possibility of delegating these powers to the parties to a works agreement. The collective bargaining agreement takes precedence over discretionary statutory law. It is superseded by bilateral or absolutely mandatory statutory law, in particular by employee protection provisions. In the case of relatively mandatory statutory law and works agreements, a comparison of which is more favorable must be conducted.
For the normative provisions of a collective bargaining agreement to be effective, they must be in writing and properly published. Even after a collective bargaining agreement has been terminated, its legal effects remain in force until a new collective bargaining agreement or a new individual contract is concluded. From the time of termination, the agreement therefore has only a dispositive character.
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