Act No. 2 / 1991 Coll.
Act on collective bargaining
Valid
Effective from 01.02.1991
2
THE LAW
of 4 December 1990
on collective bargaining
The Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic decided on this law:
Preliminary provisions
The Act provides for collective bargaining between trade unions and employers or their organisations, where appropriate, for the cooperation of a State with a view to concluding a collective agreement.
(1) The Contracting Parties to a collective agreement of a higher degree may jointly propose that a communication be published in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties (4a) The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs that a collective contract of higher degree is binding on other employers with predominant activity in the sector identified by the classification code of economic activities according to the communication of the Czech Statistical Office published in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties (4b) (hereinafter referred to as "the sector ').
(2) The Communication from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties where a collective agreement of a higher degree is concluded:
(a) employers' organisations which employ the largest number of employees in the sector in which it is proposed to extend the commitment of a higher-level collective agreement; or
(b) by the relevant higher trade union body, which acts as the largest number of employees in the sector in which it is proposed to extend the commitment of a higher level collective agreement.
(3) Compliance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 shall be assessed on the last day of the quarter for which the statistical information referred to in paragraph 6 is available.
(4) The proposal to extend the commitment of a collective agreement to a higher degree (hereinafter referred to as "the proposal") must be written, signed by the Contracting Parties on the same instrument, and must include the indication of a collective agreement to a higher degree and the sector in which it is to be extended to other employers. It shall also contain:
(a) the lists of employers for which the collective agreement of a higher degree is binding and the total number of employees, the lists of employers who are members of other employers' organisations in the same sector, the total numbers of their employees and the codes of classification of economic activities according to the communication from the Czech Statistical Office published in the Collection of Laws and the international contract 4b); or
(b) the total number of employees for which the competent higher trade union body referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2 is acting, that is the list of employers for whom it operates through the competent trade union body, and the total number of employees for which the other competent higher trade union body is acting in the same sector, that is the list of employers for whom it operates through the competent trade union body, the number of employees and their code of classification of economic activities, as indicated by the Czech Statistical Office published in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties (4b).
The Contracting Parties shall attach to the draft text of a collective agreement of a higher degree in written and electronic form.
(5) For this purpose, the employers' organisation shall communicate in writing to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and to the employers' organisation operating in the same sector, at the request of the employer's list of members thereof, and the total number of their employees. For this purpose, the higher trade union must communicate in writing to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and to the higher trade union body operating in the same sector, upon request, the total number of employees for which it is acting and the list of employers with whom the trade union is operating.
(6) The facts set out in paragraph 4 shall be demonstrated by the Contracting Parties by statistical information of the Czech Statistical Office on the total number of employees and written communications referred to in paragraph 5.
(7) If the proposal does not comply with the requirements laid down in paragraph 4, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall invite the Contracting Parties to remedy the deficiencies and, where appropriate, to supplement the proposal and shall set a reasonable time limit for them to do so. At the same time, they shall be advised that, if they do not remedy the deficiencies or fail to complete the proposal, it will not be possible to make the notification referred to in paragraph 1.
(8) The parties to a collective agreement of a higher degree may withdraw the application within 15 days of its receipt. The first sentence of paragraph 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the elements of withdrawal.
(9) If the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 are met and the proposal contains the requirements laid down in paragraph 4, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall send without undue delay, but at the earliest after the deadline laid down in paragraph 8, the communication referred to in paragraph 1 to be published in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties. The communication shall also indicate the place where the content of a collective agreement of a higher degree can be accessed, the commitment of which extends to other employers. At the same time, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will send a collective contract of higher degree in electronic form to the Office of Labour of the Czech Republic - regional branches and branch for the capital city of Prague (hereinafter the "Regional branch of the Labour Office") 4c) and publish it in a way that allows remote access. The Regional Branch of the Labour Office enables anyone who so requests to consult a higher-level collective agreement whose commitment has been extended to other employers.
(10) If the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 or the proposal do not contain the formalities laid down in paragraph 4, or if the Contracting Parties have not remedied the deficiencies of the proposal within the prescribed time limit, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall inform the Contracting Parties in writing that their proposal does not comply.
The collective agreement of a higher degree shall be binding from the first day of the month following the publication of the communication referred to in Article 7 (1) in the Collection of Laws and International Contracts for other employers having the predominant activity in the sector, with the exception of employers,
(a) which on that date employs more than 50% of natural persons with disabilities 4e),
(b) which employs less than 10 employees on that date; or
(c) for which an emergency has occurred (4f), the consequences of which shall continue on that date.
Procedure for concluding collective agreements
(1) Collective negotiations are initiated by the submission of a written proposal to conclude a collective agreement by one of the Contracting Parties to the other Contracting Party.
(2) The Contracting Party is required to reply in writing on a proposal without undue delay, but no later than 7 working days, unless otherwise agreed, and to comment on those proposals which it has not accepted.
(3) The Contracting Parties are obliged to negotiate with each other and to provide each other with the additional required synergies, unless they conflict with their legitimate interests.
(4) Where a collective agreement has been concluded for a specified period or has been concluded for an indefinite period and the participants have agreed to amend it at a given date, or has come to its notice, the participants of the collective agreement shall be required to enter into negotiations for the conclusion of a new collective agreement at least 60 days before the end of the period of validity of the existing collective agreement or, where appropriate, before the date on which the parties agree to amend it.
(5) The Contracting Parties may agree in a collective agreement the possibility of amending a collective agreement and its scope; the amendment shall be treated as a collective agreement.
Save collective agreements and familiarise themselves with their content
(1) The collective agreement of a higher degree and the decisions of the arbitrator (Paragraph 13) concerning it must be submitted by the contracting party on the part of the employers to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministry") for the deposit.
(2) The establishment of a collective agreement of a higher degree is announced in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties. The Ministry shall request notification of the deposit. The Ministry shall make these contracts available on its website without delay after notification of the deposit in the Collection of Laws and International Contracts.
(3) The Ministry is required to provide the applicant with a copy of the higher-level collective agreement at the request and for a fee.
(4) The Contracting Parties shall be obliged to withhold collective agreements and decisions of the arbitrators concerning them for at least five years from the end of their period of effectiveness.
Use of the single monthly report
The employer is obliged to provide the Ministry with data on collective agreements and their types applicable to the employer by means of a single monthly report under the Single Monthly Reporting Act.
Collective disputes
Collective disputes under this law are disputes concerning the conclusion of a collective agreement and disputes concerning the fulfilment of collective agreements obligations which do not give rise to claims on individual employees.
Management before an intermediary
(1) The Contracting Parties may, in agreement, choose an intermediary in the dispute. The receipt of an application by an intermediary shall initiate proceedings before an intermediary. The Contracting Parties and the intermediary shall provide each other with the necessary synergies.
(2) If the Contracting Parties fail to assess the intermediary, they shall designate an intermediary from the list of intermediaries and arbitrators kept by the Ministry on a proposal from either Party by the Ministry. The service of the decision to appoint an intermediary shall initiate proceedings before an intermediary. In a dispute concerning the conclusion of a collective agreement, such an application may be lodged no earlier than 60 days after the submission of a written application for conclusion of that agreement.
(3) An intermediary may be a natural person eligible for legal action under the law of the Czech Republic or a legal person if he agrees to perform this function. Where the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph are concerned, they must be intermediaries entered in the list of intermediaries and arbitrators kept by the Ministry.
(1) The mediator shall notify the parties in writing of the dispute settlement proposal within 15 days of the date of receipt of the request by the mediator or of the date of service of the decision designating the intermediary, unless otherwise assessed by the contracting party with the intermediary.
(2) Proceedings before an intermediary shall be deemed to be unsuccessful if the dispute is not resolved within 20 days of the date of receipt of the request by the intermediary, or from the date of service of the decision designating the intermediary, unless the parties with the intermediary are assessed at another time.
(3) Where proceedings before an intermediary are declared unsuccessful, the Contracting Parties may jointly request the Ministry to appoint a new intermediary.
(4) The costs of proceedings before an intermediary shall be borne by each of the Contracting Parties in one half. In particular, the costs of the intermediary shall include its remuneration. If the parties to the contract with the intermediary fail to assess the remuneration, they shall be remunerated in accordance with the implementing regulation.
Proceedings before an arbitrator
(1) In the event of a failure of a procedure before an intermediary of a Contracting Party, the arbitrator may be asked in writing to take a decision in a dispute in agreement. The arbitration panel shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the arbitration panel is informed of the application. The Parties and the arbitrators shall provide each other with the required synergies.
(2) If the Contracting Parties fail to assess in accordance with paragraph 1, and if there is a dispute over the conclusion of a collective agreement at the workplace where it is prohibited to strike or a dispute over the performance of obligations under the collective agreement, the arbitrator shall designate the Ministry from the list of intermediaries and arbitrators, on a proposal from either Party; The arbitration panel shall be informed of the outcome of the proceedings.
(3) An arbitrator may be a natural person eligible for legal action under the law of the Czech Republic if he is included in the list of intermediaries and arbitrators maintained by the Ministry.
(4) The same person may not be an intermediary and an arbitrator in the same collective dispute.
(5) The arbitration panel shall notify the Contracting Parties in writing within 15 days of the initiation of the procedure. The arbitration panel shall decide within the limits of the proposals of the Parties.
(6) This Agreement shall be concluded by delivering the decision of the arbitrator to the Parties in the dispute concerning the conclusion of a collective agreement.
(7) The costs of proceedings before the arbitrators, including their remuneration, shall be borne by the Ministry.
(1) The Regional Court shall revoke or amend, on a proposal from a Contracting Party, the arbitrator's decision to fulfil the collective agreement obligations if it is contrary to legislation or collective agreements (§ 5).
(2) An application for revocation or amendment of an arbitrator's decision may be made by the Contracting Party within 15 days of its notification. The competent court shall be the regional court in whose jurisdiction the Contracting Party against which the application is directed shall have its seat. The decision shall be taken by the Regional Court in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code governing proceedings at first instance; However, it shall always decide by a resolution against which no appeal or resumption of proceedings is admissible.
(3) If the arbitrator's decision has been revoked, the same arbitrator shall decide on the dispute; If at least one of the Contracting Parties disagrees with this, or if it is not possible for other reasons, the procedure laid down in Paragraph 13 (2) shall be followed. The arbitrator shall be bound by the legal opinion of the court when deciding again.
(4) Where, within the time limit referred to in paragraph 2, an application for annulment or amendment of an arbitrator's decision has not been lodged before a court, or where that application has been rejected by a court, or the proceedings have been terminated, the arbitrator's decision notified shall be in legal order.
(5) The final decision of the arbitrator on the fulfilment of the collective agreement obligations is enforceable. 5)
(1) The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs provides by decree the procedure for:
(a) the imposition of collective agreements of a higher degree;
(b) the selection of intermediaries and the manner in which they are entered in the list of intermediaries, as well as any further adjustment of the procedure before the intermediary;
(c) the choice of arbitrators, the method of verifying their expertise, their inclusion in the list of arbitrators, as well as any further modification of the proceedings before the arbitrator.
(2) The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in agreement with the Ministry of Finance, provides for a decree
(a) the amount of remuneration to the intermediary and the arbitrators;
(b) the amount of the fee for the provision of a copy of a higher degree collective agreement;
(c) the amount and method of reimbursement of the costs before the arbitrator.
Strike in the collective agreement dispute
(1) If there is no conclusion of a collective agreement even after the procedure before an intermediary and the parties do not request the dispute to be resolved by an arbitrator, a strike may be declared as an extreme means of bringing the collective agreement into dispute.
(2) A strike means a partial or complete interruption of the work of the staff member.
(3) Solidarity strike means a strike to support the demands of workers striking in a dispute over the conclusion of another collective agreement.
(4) A staff member who has agreed to the strike shall be regarded as a participant in the strike for the duration of the strike; an employee who has joined the strike shall be considered a participant from the date of joining the strike.
(1) The strike shall be announced and decided by the trade union in a dispute concerning the conclusion of a corporate collective agreement if at least two-thirds of the employees of the employer participating in the vote on the strike to which the contract is to apply agree with the strike, provided that at least half of the employees of the employer to whom the contract is to apply have taken part in the vote.
(2) The strike is announced and decided by the trade union in a dispute over the conclusion of a collective agreement of a higher degree, if at least two thirds of the employer's employees participating in the vote on a higher degree collective agreement agree to the strike, provided that at least half of the members of the members of the collective agreement of higher degrees are involved in the vote.
(3) The announcement and initiation of a solidarity strike shall be treated mutatis mutandis in accordance with the preceding paragraphs.
(4) The trade union must notify the employer in writing at least three working days in advance
(a) when the strike will commence;
(b) the reasons and objectives of the strike;
(c) the number of employees participating in the strike and the list of workplaces which will not be in operation at the time of the strike.
(5) Staff members referred to in § 20 (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) shall not be included for the purpose of determining the total number of employees nor shall they participate in the vote on the strike. The trade union must register the result of the vote.
(1) Staff members must not be prevented from taking part in the strike or forced to take part in the strike.
(2) A trade union which is entitled to act as participants in the strike must allow adequate and secure access to the employer's workplace and must not prevent workers wishing to work from accessing and leaving that place of work or from threatening any harm to them; they can only negotiate the interruption of work with them.
(1) A trade union which has decided to initiate a strike is required to provide the employer with the necessary synergies throughout the duration of the strike in order to ensure the protection of equipment against damage, loss, destruction or abuse and in ensuring the necessary operation and operation of equipment which is required by their nature or purpose with regard to safety and health or the possibility of causing damage to such facilities.
(2) Staff working in the security of the activities referred to in paragraph 1 shall follow the instructions of the employer.
Illegal under this law is a strike
(a) which has not preceded proceedings before an intermediary (Sections 11 and 12); This does not apply in the case of a solidarity strike (§ 16 (3)),
(b) which has been declared or continues after the initiation of proceedings before an arbitrator (Sections 13 and 14) or after the conclusion of a collective agreement;
(c) which has not been declared or initiated under the conditions laid down in Article 17;
(d) declared or initiated for reasons other than those referred to in Paragraph 16;
(e) solidarity if the employer of the participants in the strike, in particular with regard to economic continuity, is unable to influence the course or outcome of the staff strike in support of whose requirements the solidarity strike is declared;
(f) in the event of a state's security alert and at a time of emergency measures, 6)
(g) staff of health or social care establishments, if the strike would endanger the life or health of citizens;
(h) personnel operating at nuclear power plants, fissile equipment and oil or gas pipelines;
(i) judges, prosecutors, members of the armed forces and armed corps and staff in air traffic management and security;
(j) members of the fire protection corps, staff of the fire protection racing units and members of the rescue corps set up under the special regulations for the relevant workplaces (7) and of staff providing telecommunications operations, should the strike endanger the life or health of the citizen or, where applicable, the property;
(k) staff working in areas affected by natural events where emergency measures have been declared by the competent authorities.
The employer or, as the case may be, the employer's organisation or the prosecutor may make an application to determine the illegality of the strike to the Regional Court, in whose territory the trade union organisation against which the proposal is directed is situated; the proposal has no suspensive effect. The Regional Court shall take decisions in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code governing proceedings at first instance.
Workers' rights
(1) At the time of participation in the strike, neither the wage nor the remuneration shall be payable to the participant of the strike.
(2) Participation in the strike at the time before the legal power of the court's decision on the illegality of the strike is considered to be an excused absence of employment.
(3) Participation in the strike after the legal power of the court's decision on the illegality of the strike is considered to be an unexcused absence of employment.
(4) Employees who are not part of the strike will allow the employer to carry out the work. If the staff member is unable to work as a result of the strike, he shall be entitled to pay a salary equal to the average earnings; if the work is carried out in accordance with Paragraph 19, for which a lower salary or salary is payable, the employer shall grant him a supplement up to the average earnings (8).
Liability for damage
(1) A participant in a strike shall be liable for damage caused by an event occurring during the strike to the employer or employer of the participant in the strike under the Civil Code. 9) However, if there is damage that has taken place in the course of the operation provided for in Section 19, they are liable under the Labour Code. 10)
(2) A participant in a strike shall not be liable for damage caused solely by interruption of work by a strike and the employer of the participant in the strike shall not be liable.
(3) The trade union which has decided to initiate the strike is responsible for the damage caused by failure to provide the necessary synergies under Article 19 (1) by the employer under civil law (11).
(4) If the court has ruled that the strike is illegal, the trade union which has declared the strike is responsible for the damage caused to the employer under civil law11.
Social security claims
In determining the amount of income for the provision of national social assistance benefits, which is part of the livelihood component, benefits for disabled persons and benefits for assistance in material needs 34) and social services 34a), no account shall be taken of loss or decrease of income due to participation in the strike.
During the strike, the employer shall not accept other citizens as participants in the strike.
The strike shall be terminated if the trade union which has declared or decided to initiate the strike so decides. The trade union must notify the employer in writing of the termination of the strike without undue delay.
Exclusion
(1) Unless a collective agreement is concluded even after the proceedings before an intermediary and the parties request the dispute to be resolved by an arbitrator, a lockout may be declared as an extreme means of resolving the dispute on the conclusion of a collective agreement.
(2) An exclusion means a partial or complete cessation of work by the employer.
(3) The employer must notify the trade union in writing at least three working days in advance of the start of the lockout, its scope, the reasons, the objectives and the list of employees against which the lockout is applied. Within the same period, the employer shall notify the staff members against whom it is applied.
Illegal under this law is a lockout
(a) which has not preceded proceedings before an intermediary (Sections 11 and 12), with the exception of exclusion during a solidarity strike;
(b) which has been declared or continues after the initiation of proceedings before an arbitrator (Sections 13 and 14) or after the conclusion of a collective agreement;
(c) which has not been declared by the employer on the grounds and under the conditions laid down in Paragraph 27;
(d) in the event of a state's armed emergency and at a time of emergency measures;
(e) relating to staff of health or social care establishments in the event of a threat to the life or health of citizens;
(f) related to staff serving nuclear power plants, fissile equipment and oil or gas pipelines;
(g) relating to judges, prosecutors, members of the armed forces and armed corps and staff in the management and security of air traffic;
(h) relating to members of the fire protection corps, staff of the fire protection racing units and members of the rescue corps established under the special regulations for the relevant workplaces and staff providing telecommunications operations, where the exclusion would endanger the life or health of citizens and, where applicable, property;
(i) relating to staff working in areas affected by natural events in which emergency measures have been declared by the competent authorities.
The trade union organisation or prosecutor may file an application to determine the illegality of the lockout to a regional court in whose territory the competent employer against which the application is directed is situated; the submission of this proposal has no suspensory effect. The Regional Court shall take decisions in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code governing proceedings at first instance.
(1) If the employee was unable to do the job because the lockout was applied to him, it is an obstacle to the employer's work. 16) If it is not an illegal lockout, the employee is entitled to pay only half the average wage.
(2) The damage suffered during the lockout shall be the responsibility of the employee against whom the lockout was applied to the employer and the employer to whom the lockout was applied under the Civil Code. 9) For damage caused solely by the interruption of work by an exclusive employee against whom the exclusion has been applied to the employer and the employer to the employee against whom the exclusion has been applied is not liable.
(3) Entitlements from sickness insurance and social security of the employee against whom the exclusion has been applied shall be treated as if the exclusion had not taken place. For the purposes of pension insurance, the exclusion period shall not be included in the relevant period when establishing the personal assessment basis17. In determining the amount of income for the provision of benefits for assistance in material cases (34) and social services (34a), account shall be taken of the decline in income due to exclusion.
The exclusion shall be terminated if the employer who has declared the exclusion so decides; the termination of the lockout shall be notified in writing to the trade union organisation without undue delay. The employer shall also notify the employees against whom the exclusion has been applied.
Common and transitional provision
(1) Unless otherwise provided for in this law, employment relations under this law shall be governed by the Labour Code.
(2) Collective agreements concluded before the application of this Act shall be subject to the provisions of this Act; Such collective agreements shall expire not later than 30 June 1991, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
Efficacy
This Act shall take effect on 1 February 1991.
Havel v. r.
Dubček v. r.
CHF
4 (a) § 4 (h) of Act No 222 / 2016 Coll., on the Collection of Laws and International Treaties and on the formation of laws published in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties (Act on the Collection of Laws and International Treaties).
4b) Communication from the Czech Statistical Office No. 244 / 2007 Coll., on the introduction of the Classification of Economic Activities (CZ-NACE).
4c) § 8 (1) (m) of Act No. 435 / 2004 Coll., on Employment.
4e) § 67 of Act No. 435 / 2004 Coll.
4f) § 2 (b) of Act No. 239 / 2000 Coll., on the Integrated Rescue System and on the amendment of certain laws, as amended by Act No. 320 / 2002 Coll.
5) Paragraph 274 (h) of the Civil Code.
6) Sections 46 to 48 of Act No. 92 / 1949 Coll., Defense Act (full version No. 309 / 1990 Coll.).
7) For example Order of the Czech Mining Office No. 67 / 1988 Coll., on the Mining Rescue Service, and Decree of the Slovak Mining Office No. 69 / 1988 Coll., on the Mining Rescue Service.
8) Sections 40 and 208 of the Labour Code.
9) § 420 et seq. of the Civil Code.
10) § 170 et seq. of the Labour Code.
11) § 145 et seq. of the Economic Code.
12) Articles 15 (1), 16 and 25 (1) of Act No. 54 / 1956 Coll., on occupational sickness insurance, as amended.
15) § 139 of Decree No. 149 / 1988 Coll.
16) Paragraph 130 (1) of the Labour Code.
17) Article 16 of Act No. 155 / 1995 Coll., on Pension Insurance, as amended.
34) Act No. 111 / 2006 Coll., on assistance in material distress.
34a) Act No. 108 / 2006 Coll., on Social Services.
Sign in for notes, favorites and notifications
Regulation Information
| Citation | Act No. 2 / 1991 Coll., on collective bargaining |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 31.01.1991 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.02.1991 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
Comments 0