Collective Bargaining Agreement Purpose
Collective agreements most often apply for a period of two years, sometimes three and sometimes one. Before the agreement expires, the union and the employer will enter into negotiations for a renewal agreement. The element of good faith is an important aspect of collective bargaining processes. Good faith negotiations are aimed at obtaining collective agreements that are acceptable to both parties. In the absence of an agreement, dispute resolution procedures can be used, from mediation to arbitration to mediation. The Swedish Confederation of Industrial Employers is bound by thirteen collective agreements. Seven of them are workers` contracts. The workers` union Industrifacket Metall is a counterpart in five agreements, Pappers (the Swedish union of paper workers), GS (the Swedish Union of Forestry, Wood and Graphics Workers) in one and SEKO (The Union of Service and Communication Employees) in two. The Swedish Confederation of Industrial Employers is also bound by four collective agreements for employees. The counterparts to this agreement are the employee unions Ledarna (the Swedish Management Organisation), Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer (Swedish Federation of Graduate Engineers). In addition, the Swedish Industrial Employers` Association is bound by a collective agreement which includes both counterparties and employees in the same agreement with Pappers (the Swedish Paper Workers` Union) as a fellow worker. Sections 8(a)(5) and 8(b)(3) of the NLRA define failure to conduct collective bargaining as unfair labor practices (29 U.S.C.A. § 158[a][5], [b][3]).
The aggrieved party may file a complaint of unfair labour practices with the LNRB, which has the power to prevent or stop the practice of unfair labour practices (Article 160). A collective agreement is binding both for the employers` organisation and its members, on the one hand, and for the trade union and its members, on the other. In addition, in practice, if not theoretically, a collective agreement binds non-unionized and unionized workers belonging to unions other than the union that is part of the agreement, provided that (i) the worker works with tasks covered by the contract and (ii) the union to which the worker belongs, he is not bound by another collective agreement with the employer. Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) (29 U.S.) in 1935. C.A. § 151 et seq.) in order to define the right of workers to collective bargaining and other group activities (§ 157). The NLRA also created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal authority empowered to uphold the right to collective bargaining (§153). The NLRA has been amended several times since 1935, including in 1947, 1959 and 1974.
National legislation continues to regulate collective bargaining and make collective agreements enforceable under State law. . . .
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