As a consequence of the reforms to the Federal Labor Law (FLL) published on May 1st, 2019, on the Federal Official Gazette (DOF, for its acronym in Spanish), the protocol for the legitimization of collective bargaining agreements (CBA) that were previously  executed, was published on July, 31st. The objective is to ensure collective freedom, justice and democracy by establishing a set of rules and operative procedures.

The legitimation process will be monitored by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS, for its acronym in Spanish) until the Federal Conciliation and Labor Registry Center begins operations.

The tenant union of the CBA must initiate the legitimation procedure through an electronic notice sent to the corresponding authorities (considering a minimum of 10 days prior to the consultation date); said notice must include certain information on the employer, the union, the CBA and the consultation process. By means of the same notice, the union and the company may request the assistance of a Notary Public attending the consultation process. (The specific information concerning the notice is located on subsection 3 of the following link: http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5566910&fecha=31/07/2019).

Once the notice is presented, the union must let the employer know immediately, so that the necessary considerations are arranged to carry out the corresponding consultation. The employer must deliver, at least three days before the consultation, copies of the CBA to be verified by the affiliated workers. In case of not delivering the copies, the union will be entitled to do it at the expense of the employer, in addition to being able to inform the authorities of said circumstance so that the corresponding fines are imposed to the employer.

The labor authority is entitled to verify compliance of the requirements established in the protocol even when the consultation was executed before a Notary Public. If the data detached from the verification record denotes substantive irregularities, the authorities will declare the procedure null and void. On the contrary, in the event that the authorities do not issue observations within the next 20 business days, the agreement will be considered legitimate and the tenant union may request the corresponding certificate.

If the CBA subject to consultation does not gather the minimum representation of the workers, it will be terminated, keeping the benefits and conditions established in the not legitimized CBA provided that they are superior to those established by the law.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.