Encouraging of regulation of labour relations by means of collective agreements: investigation of some legal norms of Labour Code in the aspect of application of law
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Abstract
After Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ratified the ILO Convention (No. 154) concerning the Promotion of Collective Bargaining and European Social Charter (revised) Lithuania as well as the states that ratified these documents was obliged to consolidate a mechanism in their laws, which would prompt the regulation of labour relations by means of collective agreements.
The article discloses the legal nature of the collective agreement and analyses legal norms of Labour Code, which encourages drafting of collective agreements, i.e. norms, which entrench the optional legal regulation by means of collective agreements (when the legal regulation by statutes or other legal acts are not established) and norms, which entrench the main legal regulation by means of collective agreements (which have to be established in collective agreements in order to have legal regulation of particular labour relation). The practice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania of the application of the legal norms of the Labour Code mentioned above is analysed in this article as well.
It is underlined that the process of making collective agreements is peculiar mechanism of conclusion of collective agreements in contractual law-making of employees and employers. This is the reason why collective agreements play exceptional role in the regulation of labour relations.
Having analysed the case-law of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, one makes an assumption that in Lithuanian caselaw, when the provisions of the Labour Code are construed, which in a mandatory manner oblige the parties to regulate one or another issue in a collective agreement, no attention is paid to the peculiarities of the collective agreement, which are determined by the legal nature of this agreement.
The article discloses the legal nature of the collective agreement and analyses legal norms of Labour Code, which encourages drafting of collective agreements, i.e. norms, which entrench the optional legal regulation by means of collective agreements (when the legal regulation by statutes or other legal acts are not established) and norms, which entrench the main legal regulation by means of collective agreements (which have to be established in collective agreements in order to have legal regulation of particular labour relation). The practice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania of the application of the legal norms of the Labour Code mentioned above is analysed in this article as well.
It is underlined that the process of making collective agreements is peculiar mechanism of conclusion of collective agreements in contractual law-making of employees and employers. This is the reason why collective agreements play exceptional role in the regulation of labour relations.
Having analysed the case-law of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, one makes an assumption that in Lithuanian caselaw, when the provisions of the Labour Code are construed, which in a mandatory manner oblige the parties to regulate one or another issue in a collective agreement, no attention is paid to the peculiarities of the collective agreement, which are determined by the legal nature of this agreement.
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