Dear clients and friends,
On April 30, the Official Journal of the Federation (“OJF”) published an Extract of the Agreement approving the Protocol for the Legitimation of Existing Collective Labor Agreements (“Protocol”).
The Protocol, which entered into force the day after its publication, is one of the new mechanisms created by the labor reform published in the OJF on May 1, 2019, which, in its Eleventh Transitory Article, provides that existing collective agreements must be reviewed for their legitimation at least once during the four years following its publication (that is, between May 1st, 2019 and May 1st, 2023). If such review is not carried out, the agreement shall be terminated, and workers will retain the benefits provided for therein.
The most relevant aspects of the Protocol are the following:
1. The Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registry (“Center”) will be the authority in charge of the proceedings for legitimizing existing collective labor agreements.
2. Proceedings must be completed through the website https://legitimacion.centrolaboral.gob.mx/
3. The incumbent union shall notify the Center of the intention to hold the consultation. Such notice must comply with the requirements provided by the Protocol for the Center to issue the forms and documents necessary to continue the process.
4. The union will issue the respective call and give notice to the employer, who should grant the necessary facilities for it to be carried out.
5. The Center may verify compliance with the Protocol before, during, and after the consultation
6. Depending on the outcome of the consultation, it will proceed as follows:
a. If the majority of the workers are in favor of the agreement, the Center will consider it legitimate.
b. If it is impossible to determine the vote in favor or against by the majority, or if the outcome is a tie, the union may convene a new consultation.
c. If the majority object to the agreement, the Center shall consider the contract to be illegitimate and will terminate it. In such case, workers will retain their benefits and working conditions.
7. In the event of irregularities or violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining, or acts of simulation, violence, or coercion, those involved will be subject to the sanctions provided for in the Federal Labor Law and the consultation may be annulled.
8. Workers may raise their non-conformity before the Center for irregularities during the process.
9. From the admission of the non-conformity and until it is resolved, all legitimation proceedings will be suspended.
10. If, on the basis of non-conformity, irregularities are detected, the Center may determine the validity or invalidity of the consultation, as well as deny the issuance of the Certificate of Legitimacy, irrespective of the resulting sanctions.
11. The legitimacy of the collective agreement shall not be required for salary review or increase.
12. Legitimation proceedings initiated prior to the entry into force of the Protocol must be continued before the Ministry of Labor and Social Security until their conclusion.
Full text of the Protocol is available in the following link:
Labor & Social Security
Perla Arreola
[email protected]
Javier Canseco
[email protected]
Ana María Becerra
[email protected]
Roberto Alvarez-Malo
[email protected]
Rogelio Sánchez
[email protected]
Isaac Corral
[email protected]
