Quick overview
- Unions represent employees in negotiations with their employer.
- The employer has to inform the union, for example, about redundancies, wages or changes to working conditions.
- Without consulting the union, some terminations may be invalid.
- As few as three employees can form a trade union.
- Unions can negotiate better wages, benefits and working hours.
A union is a legally protected organisation of workers that helps promote better working conditions, wages and safety. Employers have a number of obligations to unions under the Labour Code, and in some situations they must discuss their actions with the union or get its approval. Unions can also help with termination, workplace bullying, or failure to pay overtime.
Need to resolve a problem with your employer or union? We are happy to advise you and help you resolve your issue.
Perhaps the word union evokes endless meetings that lead to, at most, providing a watch as a gift for deserving workers. But a functioning union can do much more than that, it’s all about the members. If functional, they can provide a platform for effective bargaining with the employer.
In general, their main objectives are to improve working and economic conditions and to ensure areas of occupational safety. They can also help to deal with very specific situations at work, such as giving notice. Members usually pay a monthly membership fee to the union (often around 1% of net pay, for example), but the amount is always determined by the specific union in its constitution.
Membership of a trade union is voluntary, as is the formation of the union itself. The Labour Code does not therefore regulate the need for a company to have a union in certain situations, and there are a large number of companies that do not have a union.
Who can form a union and how?
Any employee of a company can form a trade union. He or she only needs the consent and cooperation of two other colleagues, with whom he or she will form a preparatory committee. Together, the committee will draw up a constitution, which will be approved at the constituent meeting. The trade union must then be registered with the relevant registration court. The trade union is established as a legal entity on the date of registration in the public register. On the day following the date of delivery to the Ministry of the Interior, the trade union is established.
Members of the governing body (board, committee, etc.) may well be persons other than employees of the company, but it is necessary to prove that at least three trade unionists are employed by the employer . It is not clear from the law what such proof should look like, but it does not necessarily mean that the trade union has to submit a list of members.
The employer may not even request information from its employees about their union membership, but it can be assumed that members of the preparatory committee will identify themselves as members.
There may be more than one trade union per employer. In this case, the employer is obliged to negotiate with all of them and inform them of everything necessary according to the law.
The employer should not penalise participation in a trade union, but unfortunately there are cases where this happens.
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You can also read our article on the types of unions you may encounter in our company.
Example of a trade union in northern Moravia
Employees of a factory in the North Moravian region were permanently dissatisfied with their working conditions. They were not being paid for overtime and their wages were late, so four employees decided to form a trade union. Before they officially notified their employer of their formation, the employer gave them all notice.
The employees turned to the Affordable Advocate for help. The situation was fairly clear. Not only did the employer not have a legal reason to terminate the employees at that point, but it was also clear that this was bullying and revenge related to the formation of the union.
It was clear to our lawyers and ultimately to the employer itself that it could not legally remedy the situation and the terminations were invalid. The employer eventually acknowledged this and withdrew his terminations.
If you feel your employer is retaliating against you because of union activity, have an attorney quickly assess the situation. The first few weeks and the right course of action often make all the difference in an invalid termination.
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Obligations to the trade union
The employer has several sets of obligations towards the trade union. First of all, it has to inform the employees through the union and it also has a duty to discuss certain matters with the union.
The employer is obliged to inform the trade union that works for him about:
- wage and salary developments,
- the development of the average wage or salary and its individual components and the breakdown by occupational group,
- the economic and financial situation of the employer and its development,
- the employer’s activities and changes in the scope of its activities,
- environmental measures,
- the legal status and internal organisation of the employer and changes thereto,
persons authorised to act on behalf of the employer in labour relations,
- basic working conditions and changes thereto,
- measures to prevent discrimination,
- job vacancies,
- health and safety at work.
The obligation to negotiate with a trade union applies to:
- Negotiating information on new jobs.
- Negotiation of dismissal and immediate termination of employment – this procedure must be discussed with the trade union in advance. If the employee is a member of a trade union body, the employer is obliged to seek the trade union’s consent to the termination or immediate termination of employment (otherwise the acts in question are null and void). Other cases of termination of employment need only be notified ex post and do not require the consent of the trade union. In practice, we deal with situations where the employer underestimates or circumvents the obligation to discuss the termination with the trade union. This can lead to the termination being invalid and subsequent litigation.
- Mass redundancies – this procedure must also be consulted with the trade union at least 30 days in advance and the reasons for the redundancies, the number of employees to be made redundant, the time when the redundancies will take place, the severance pay or other rights of the redundant employees must be communicated to the trade union.
- Bulk working time adjustments – this applies not only to working hours as such, but also to overtime work, night work or the possibility of ordering work on rest days.
- Compensation for damages – if an employee suffers an occupational injury or illness, appropriate compensation must be negotiated in advance.
- A holiday schedule, which the employer shall inform the trade union in advance and the trade union shall give its consent (or not).
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The area of occupational health and safety is covered in detail in our separate article.
Co-decision
Joint decision-making between the employer and the trade union concerns the cultural and social fund, i.e. its allocation and use.
Collective bargaining
Trade unions must be authorised to bargain collectively by statute. In this case, they may negotiate a collective agreement.
A collective agreement is understood as a bilateral contract between a trade union and an employer, the content of which is the rights and obligations in labour relations. Consequently, it applies to all employees, i.e. not only those who are members of a trade union. If there are more than one trade union in the workplace, the organisation with the largest number of members acts for employees who are not members of any of them (unless the employee chooses otherwise).
Collective agreements may be within a single company for the whole enterprise or for individual management levels (territorially or professionally defined).
A collective agreement may include, for example:
- adjustment of working hours (e.g. reduced or flexible working hours),
- holidays – e.g. more weeks than the legal entitlement,
- obstacles to work – entitlement to paid time off in excess of the statutory entitlement,
- protection of employees in the event of organisational changes, the determination of severance pay, pay – e.g. rules on bonuses, or the amount of extra pay for overtime or weekend work,
- employment benefits – pension or life insurance, meal vouchers, anniversary bonuses, the FKSP fund, etc.,
- OSH,
- its validity and effectiveness – the contract may be for a fixed or indefinite period (the possibility of termination is regulated by the Labour Code – termination may be given after six months of validity at the earliest, with six months’ notice).
Collective agreements are often unclear in practice and employees often do not know what benefits or supplements they are actually entitled to. If you are not sure whether your employer is complying with the collective agreement, we will be happy to check this for you.
If collective bargaining does not progress to a successful outcome, a strike may be the last resort in a dispute over a collective agreement. According to the law, it must be preceded by unsuccessful proceedings between the employer and the employees.
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The strike doesn’t have to be just DJs. Strikes have been with humanity for hundreds of years, changing the course of our history. We do not avoid them even today, when we associate them especially with teachers’ strikes and student strikes for the climate. The doctors’ strike is no exception. But what good are strikes, and which strikes have marked our country the most? Find out in the next article.
In what areas do unions emerge?
Lapidary speaking, in all of them. You can find them in small companies and companies with thousands of employees. They exist in the public and private spheres and in almost all professions. Individual trade unions are organised by profession into trade unions, which may form other groups such as associations or confederations. The largest of these, the ASO ČR together with the ČMKOS, represent trade unions in the Council for Economic and Social Agreement(tripartite).
The Association of Independent Trade Unions of the Czech Republic(ASO CR) is an association of independent trade unions in the Czech Republic. ASO is the second largest trade union headquarters in the Czech Republic.
The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) is the so-called trade union headquarters, i.e. an association of trade unions in the Czech Republic. It brings together, among others, the firefighters’ union, the education workers’ union, the library workers’ union, the cultural workers’ union and many others.
Summary
A trade union is a voluntary association of employees to protect and improve their working, wage and safety conditions, and operates through a trade union operating with a particular employer. A trade union can be formed by a number of employees who draw up a constitution, form a trade union and, once the legal conditions are met (including at least three members employed by the employer), notify the employer of its existence; membership is always voluntary and the employer may not ascertain who is a member. The employer has a number of obligations towards the trade union – it must inform it of wage developments, the economic situation, changes in activities or working conditions, discuss with the union the creation of new jobs, terminations and immediate dismissals (in addition, the consent of union officials is required), collective redundancies, adjustments to working hours, compensation for accidents at work or the holiday schedule, and even co-determine with the union on certain issues, typically the cultural and social needs fund. An important area of union activity is collective bargaining, which can result in a collective agreement governing working hours, holidays, work barriers, wages, benefits or protection in the event of organisational change, and which applies to all employees, not just union members; if bargaining fails, the last resort may be a strike.
