What Is The Process To Be Followed When Seeking Extension Of A Collective Agreement

In recent years, there have been a number of cases where employers have questioned the validity of these ministerial renewals, for example: finally, there is an important institution that functions as a “functional equivalent” for the extension of collective agreements: the principle of compulsory membership in the Chamber of Commerce and its sub-units. Under the Act, all businesses operating within the area of house representation are required to be members of the House and its sub-units. The Scope of the House covers almost the entire private sector (with the notable exception of agriculture and professionals such as doctors and lawyers). This means that about 96% of private sector employees work in companies that are members of the House. The House is the collective voice of the economy with respect to all types of interests, including hereditary interests. The Chamber is therefore Austria`s main employers` organisation. The House and its sub-sectoral sub-units enter into collective agreements on behalf of almost all employer groups under the aegis of the House. In all of these cases, the problem is that employers are not affiliated with the undersigned employers` organization, not because of the principle of compulsory membership in the House, which automatically binds all employers belonging to the sub-entity that enters into the corresponding collective agreement. Such an extension of the provisions of an agreement at the industrial level is subject to a number of conditions.

Section 23 of the LRA dispelled this uncertainty and gave a legal binding effect to all collective agreements within the meaning of section 213 of the Act (Article 23, paragraph 1, point a), of the LRA). Section 23 (1) (d) confirms the legislative policy of governance by a majority, as it allows the majority to extend a collective agreement and to engage union members and non-unionized workers. The labour tribunal found that a majority union in the workplace can enter into a collective agreement with an employer and extend that contract in order to hire all workers in that employer. These include workers who are not members of the union, those who may have been affiliated and resigned, and those whom the employer will continue to employ (Mzeku, among others, against Volkswagen SA (Pty) Ltd and others [2001] 8 BLLR 857 (LAC) pars 55 and 67).