Today, the Agreement amending and adding various provisions of the Protocol for the Legitimation of existing Collective Bargaining Agreements (hereinafter, “the Agreement”) was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF).
The Agreement mainly establishes a procedure that allows addressing the objections of workers that arise as a result of irregularities in the consultation events within a procedure for the legitimation of collective bargaining agreements. It is relevant to note that the legitimation of collective bargaining agreements is fundamental to being in compliance with the Federal Labor Law and in line with the provisions of the USMCA on freedom of association and collective bargaining. Accordingly, among the changes to the Protocol, the following stand out: 1. The Protocol will remain in force until the Federal Center for Labor Conciliation and Registration begins its registration functions and issues the corresponding Protocol or guidelines. 2. There must be a commission responsible for the organization and implementation of the legitimation process, and the document evidencing its designation must be added to the notice that the union gives to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (hereinafter, “the STPS”) to initiate the consultation process. 3. The labor authority may verify compliance with the requirements contained in the Protocol, before, during and after the legitimation process, regardless of whether it has been carried out before a public notary. 4. All workers covered by the collective bargaining agreement submitted for legitimation may file objections with the STPS regarding any irregularities that exist during the consultation procedure. The objections, in broad terms, will be carried out as follows: • Any act or omission that undermines the principles of security, transparency, reliability and certainty of the vote, or that affects the workers' right to cast their vote in a personal, free, direct, secret, peaceful, expeditious and secure manner, will be understood as an irregularity. In this regard, the Agreement lists, by way of example and not limitation, certain conducts that would be considered irregularities before, during and after the consultation event. • The objection must be filed with as much evidence as possible. If there is no evidence, the description of the facts must be supported by at least two witnesses, attaching a simple copy of their identification. Additionally, the authority will request statements and evidence from the union, employer and, if necessary, from the labor inspector or notary public who attended the consultation event; as well as interviews with the petitioners or other witnesses, always safeguarding their identity. • In the event that the objection lacks any of the required elements, the authority may request the worker to remedy it within a period no greater than 3 business days; if the elements are not provided within this period, the objection will be deemed not to have been filed. • If the objection establishes the occurrence of irregularities that are decisive for the conduct of the consultation or for the result of the vote, the STPS will declare the procedure null and, in that case, the union may carry out a new consultation. For more information about the Protocol, we share the link to our communication of last August 1, 2019; as well as the link to its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation. We are at your disposal to resolve any questions regarding the amendments to the Protocol and to support you with legitimation strategies for your collective bargaining agreements. To download the Agreement, click here. For additional information, contact our expert: Rodolfo Trampe, Partner: +52 (55) 5258 1054 | rtrampe@vwys.com.mx Alix Trimmer, Associate: +52 (55) 5258 1016 | atrimmer@vwys.com.mx Alejandro Pérez, Associate: +52 (55) 5258 1054 | alperez@vwys.com.mx
