The kollektivavtal or collateral agreements are written documents between trade unions and employers, defined by the statute. More specifically, they can be defined as agreements, standing in written form between an employer / employer’s organization and the trade union or a council of trade unions representing the employees of the concern. Usually the kollektivavtal includes provisions concerning respecting the terms and conditions of employment, the rights, duties or privileges of the employer, the employee or the trade Unions. One of the important ingredients of a kollektivavtal is that it stands just between a trade union and an employer and the agreement must be in writing and duly signed by the concerned parties. A collective agreement stands as a binding legal document.
The parties to a collateral agreement can be more too. Usually the Kollektivavtal holds two or more unions representing the employees’ side. However, in a number of case numbers of employers’ associations present the parties.
Though Collective bargaining is a great concept, but the concept holds advantages and disadvantages both. Check out the few listed below-
Advantages
- Collateral agreements up-raise the workplace performance where management and labor are jointly engaged in solving various issues, addressing problems with one-to-one stand.
- Provide bilateral relationship provided legally.
- The rights of the Management are showcased clearly through collateral agreements.
- A collective agreement protects the rights of both, the employees’ and employers’ in perfect manner.
- Multi-year agreements enable budgetary predictability on salary including other compensation issues.
- Collateral agreements promote consistency and fairness in employment, personnel decisions and policies across and within the institution.
- The agreement allows the employees to choose whether or not they require a union representation.
- A core labor management partnership enables to raise the workforce development required for the technology revolution.
Disadvantages
- Collateral agreements restrict the freedom and authority of the management to far extend due to the negotiated rules.
- In case when collective bargaining features a wide structure of election, the contract creates the disproportionate effect of few active employees on the rest bargaining unit.
- The collateral contract elevates bureaucratization, which in turn eats up more and more time required for decision making.
- The agreements leads to increased interference of external entities such as of the State Labor Relations Board or arbitrators while decision making.
- The contract stands to protect the status quo, leading to inhibiting innovational change, but this is particularly the case only when the change features privatizations.
- A binding collective agreement makes it much harder for the employees of the lower level campuses to get their voices heard.
- The contract upraises the management costs which otherwise crops up due to the negotiation and administration of the agreements.
- The binding agreement leads to over dependence on the private sector for various certain services, especially the ones needing technological competence.
In a nutshell, it can be mentioned that collateral agreements can be considered a flagship concept for private successor for implementing one-time legal rules of the master and servant relationship, with the intention to bridge the gap created when those rules stand ceased for application. Furthermore, the regulations formed as a stand of collective agreements are quite uniform as there is only single agreement for a sector and category of employee in the market. As the competing agreements occur only very rarely there is no stats are available on the number of agreements which stand in existence. Also, there are no registered obligations with a public authority or any other official body. In order to bring any collective agreement into existence an application is to be filed with the Mediation Agency if any official body requests so.