Law no. 367/2022 on Social Dialogue | LegalFlash 83

 

Law no. 367/2022 on Social Dialogue

Law no. 367/2022 on Social Dialogue, was published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 1238 of 22.12.2022. The law entered into force on 25.12.2022 ("Law no. 367/2022"). Starting with the same date, the Social Dialogue Law no. 62/2011, with its subsequent amendments and additions, has been expressly repealed.

 

By adopting Law no. 367/2022, substantial changes were made compared to the previous legislation, and the most relevant adopted measures aim at:

I. Constitution, organization and functioning of trade union bodies:

Law no. 367/2022 modifies the minimum number of employees that is necessary for the establishment of a trade union, as at least 10 employees/workers from the same unit or at least 20 employees/workers from different units of the same collective bargaining sector are required.

In the units where there are no trade union organizations, the employer must allow the organization of a public information session regarding the individual and collective rights of employees/workers, at least once a year, at the request of the trade union federations in the collective bargaining sector of the respective unit, with inviting the representatives of these federations.

II. Election, duties, and protection of employee representatives

The interests of employees/workers can be promoted and defended by their representatives, elected, and mandated specifically for this purpose.

If, at the level of the employer there is no trade union, the employees can constitute an initiative group that elaborates the procedures and/or the regulation for carrying out the election of the employee representatives. In this case, the employer, will have the obligation to inform all the employees of the unit about their content in order to carry out the procedure, with no more than 10 days after receiving the procedure and/or regulation for conducting the election of employee representatives.

The number of representatives is established by mutual agreement with the employer, depending on the total number of employees/workers.

For the entire duration of the mandate, it is forbidden to modify and/or dissolve the individual employment contracts/service reports of the representatives of the employees/workers for reasons related to the fulfilment of the mandate received from the employees/workers.

III. Collective negotiations

The obligation regarding collective bargaining within units with at least 10 employees, unlike the previous regulation that established this obligation for employers with at least 21 employees is established.

Additionally, the deadline for conducting collective negotiations has been reduced to 45 days, and the negotiation initiative no longer belongs only to the employer or the employers' organization, but to any of the social partners. With the start of the negotiations, the employer will have to make available to the trade union parties and/or the representatives of the employees/workers, information that will allow an analysis of its economic-financial situation.

IV. Disputes

Trade union organizations have the right to take any action, including filing legal action on behalf of their members, upon their written request, without the need for written authorization. Trade union organizations have the right to use, under the conditions provided by law, specific means, such as: negotiations, dispute settlement procedures through conciliation, mediation, arbitration, petition, protest picket, march, rally and demonstration or strike.

Disputes related to the execution, modification, or termination of contractual clauses, may be submitted to the mediation or arbitration procedure, according to the written agreement of all the signatories of the collective employment agreement.

Exceptions are the conflicts related to the determination of the nullity of collective employment contracts in their entirety, of some of their clauses or related to the determination of the termination of collective employment contracts, situations whose resolution is the competence of the sections/compartments specialized in the resolution of employment and social insurance disputes from within the county/municipality courts of Bucharest.

V. Other changes

• The collective employment contract at the national level reverts;
• The limitation that trade union organizations cannot carry out activities of a political nature disappears;
• The unemployed have the right to join or remain union members, but also the self-employed;
• At the same time, the new law also brings a harsher sanctioning regime than the current regulation;
• Employers will have the right to be affiliated to several employers, and affiliation will also be possible for PFA employers.