The definition of a collective agreement is contained in the Participation Act, which stipulates that a collective agreement is a written agreement between employers` organizations or an employer, on the one hand, and a workers` organization, on the other, which regulates the conditions of employment or the relationship between the employer and the worker. An agreement is considered written if its contents are recorded in approved minutes or if a proposal for agreement and acceptance are recorded in separate documents. Oral agreements or agreements that do not concern the relationship between the employer and the workers are not considered a collective agreement. In 1931, the Supreme Court was appointed in the Texas – N.O.R. Co. Brotherhood of Railway Clerks case, upholding the prohibition of employer intervention in the selection of negotiators. [15] In 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order that gives public employee unions the right to bargain collectively with federal authorities. [15] The term “collective bargaining” was first used in 1891 by Beatrice Webb, founder of the LABOUR relations sector in the United Kingdom. [2] It refers to the type of collective bargaining and agreements that have existed since the rise of trade unions in the 18th century.
In the United States, the National Labor Relations Act (1935) covers most collective agreements in the private sector. The Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate, spy, harass or terminate workers because of their union membership or to retaliate for organizing campaigns or other “concerted activities,” creating business unions or refusing to engage in collective bargaining with the union that represents their employees. It is also illegal to require any worker to join a union as a condition of employment. [12] Trade unions are also able to ensure safe working conditions and adequate remuneration for their work. One of the advantages for workers when setting up and joining a union is the strengthening of the negotiations they will conduct against their employers. A worker is unlikely to be able to get his or her employer to agree on new safety measures or higher wages, but more workers will have a better chance.
