The collective agreement

A collective agreement is a written, signed agreement between the employee organisation on the one hand and the employer organisation or employer on the other. In order for it to be a collective agreement it is also required that the agreement covers the relationship between employer and employee and includes obligations for the parties. As soon as these formal requirements are fulfilled, it is a collective agreement even if only one of the parties has signed the minutes of the negotiation. Rules concerning collective agreements can be found in the Act on Co-determination at Work.

Concluding a collective pay agreement entails, in simplified terms, that the trade union organisation sells industrial peace for a guaranteed wage and other conditions of employment for the period of the agreement.