The lack of priority in the application of the collective labor agreement of the work center
A major new change brought by the 2012 labor reform was the principle that companywide collective labor agreements take priority over sectoral collective labor agreements in matters such as wages, compensation for overtime, timetable and distribution of working time, shift work arrangements, vacation planning, etc.; in other words, the most important working conditions for both employers and workers.
The new legislation implies that every companywide collective labor agreement regulating those matters will apply with priority over a sectoral collective agreement, even if it was negotiated while a collective agreement with a broader scope was in force. This provision, however, -which in judgment number 119/2014, of July 16, 2014 number 119/2014, of July 16, 2014, the Constitutional Court held compatible with the right to collective bargaining, to the binding force of collective labor agreements and to the freedom of association of labor unions– has its limits, as we shall see.
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