Employers: 5 Things to Know about Collective Agreements

You struggle through the ‘Wild West’ of business set-up in Ghana, and have a little hustle going on. You employ a few people, and you’re suddenly an employer with laws to comply with and responsibilities to fulfil. Often, you think things are going reasonably well with your workers (who are a kind of family now). Then one day a couple of them get the idea to form or join a trade union. It’s their right to do so. But I have yet to come across the employer who thought bringing in the unions was a brilliant idea. Well, once the unions come in, collective agreements follow. They’re tough. They’re capable to turning everything upside down. They’re backed by the law. Here are five things every employer should know about collective agreements (also known as collective bargaining agreements).

1.????They have legal backing

When workers form or join certified unions, then the employer must work together with the union (e.g. to negotiate a collective agreement). It is not a matter of choice for the employer whether to work with the union to achieve a collective agreement.

2.????They must be negotiated (and neither side can refuse to)

Employers and workers’ unions have a duty to negotiate on matters which fall within the scope of a collective agreement. The most well-known example of such matters is remuneration. If one side gives a notice to the other side stating that they wish to negotiate, the receiving party has 14 days to take steps to enter into the negotiations. Failure will bring in the National Labour Commission to make orders which must be obeyed.

3.????They have an expiry date

Successfully negotiated collective agreements may be as diamonds to workers. But they’re not forever. A collective agreement must have a duration of at least one year. In practice, they tend to run for two years. After a collective agreement has run its course, the employer and workers’ union must sit at the negotiation table again. But the old agreement will continue to apply, while negotiations are going on, until a new deal is done.

4.????They affect union members and non-union members alike

This may sound a little weird or silly, even. But it is based on the principle of fairness. Not all workers of a business may wish to join workers’ unions. If a union negotiates a condition of employment for its members, workers who are not union members will enjoy similar terms, by default. To illustrate the point, an employer cannot pay two workers in similar roles, who do the same kind of work, different salaries only because one worker has joined a union, and the union has struck a juicy deal for them. That would be unfair to the non-unionised worker, and even breach the principle of “equal pay for equal work”.

The reader might ask, “what is the benefit of joining a union?”. The main answer is the union’s role is not only negotiating collective agreements. Sometimes they defend the rights of their members (for example in the case of termination, the union might take the fight to the labour courts or the labour tribunal on behalf of the affected workers).

5.????They overshadow other employment terms

Collective agreements are complete agreements, and not all their terms may strictly relate to employment. But those terms which relate to employment (such as personal obligations, rights and obligations of both sides, etc.) are deemed to be?terms of the employment contract. The employment contract also includes other terms which may be found elsewhere (such as in the employment letter which was signed by both sides at the beginning of the relationship).

In a conflict between the terms of a collective agreement and such other terms of employment (e.g. in the employment letter or even an employment handbook or policy) the terms of the collective agreement will win.

That’s it. Five points about collective agreements to start a conversation hopefully. Collective agreements make life both easier and much more difficult for business owners, in practice. Some employers manage to employ workers for many years without the workers starting or joining unions, and without any unlawful or underhand dealings by the employers. How do they do it?