Collective Bargaining Agreements
Regulatory and legal framework:
The Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Chapter 14);
Methodical recommendations for development of employees’ remuneration system in privately owned entities dated 27 May 2016 (Chapter 4).
The labour legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on collective bargaining agreements is not comprehensive and contains only basic information about collective bargaining agreements drafting, negotiating, and signing procedures, as well as the content and structure of collective bargaining agreements.
A collective bargaining agreement is an agreement setting major employment terms and conditions in a company. The current labour legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK) requires only one collective agreement in a company, whereas the old version of the Labour Code of the RK did not set any requirements as to the number of collective bargaining agreements in a company.
Content and structure
The labour legislation of the RK requires the following mandatory provisions be included in the collective bargaining agreement:
•\tlabour rate setting, remuneration systems, the tariff rates and salaries, allowances and additional payments to employees, including those involved in heavy work, work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions;
•\tinter-category coefficients setting;
•\tduration of work time and rest time, paid leaves;
•\tarrangement of healthy and safe working and living conditions, financing measures for safety and labour protection, improving the health protection;
•\tsetting conditions for the trade union’s activity;
•\tcollective bargaining agreement amendment procedures;
•\tcontrol over and responsibilities of employees and an employer respectively for fulfillment of the collective bargaining agreement terms and conditions;
•\tacts of the employer that require taking into account opinion of employees’ representatives;
•\tprocedure for admission to heavy work, work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions of individuals who reached the retirement age.
Also the labour legislation of the RK stipulates certain optional provisions that may be included in a collective bargaining agreement, as follows:
•\tindexation of wages;
•\tensuring the employment, training, professional development, retraining and employment of the discharged employees;
•\tcertain guarantees provided to employees elected to the bodies of the trade union and elected representatives, as well as conditions for undertaking their activities;
•\tpayment of maternity leave;
•\tother terms specified by the parties and the Labour Code of the RK.
In accordance with the labour legislation of the RK main stages of concluding collective bargaining agreements are as follows:
•\tpreparation;
•\tnegotiations;
•\tcoordination with employees;
•\tsigning.
Preparation
Either of the parties can initiate collective negotiations, while the party receiving notification regarding commencement of collective bargaining agreement negotiations must review the proposal within 10 days and enter into negotiations.
Negotiations
For collective bargaining agreement negotiations and drafting, parties (an employer and employees) form commission on a parity basis. The number of members in the commission, its composition, time frames for drafting and signing of the collective bargaining agreement are determined by the parties.
Employees who are not members of the trade union are entitled to authorize the body of the trade union to represent their interests vis-a-vis the employer.
If there are several representatives of employees in the organization, they form a sole representative body to participate in the commission’s activity, in discussion and signing of the collective bargaining agreement.
Coordination with employees
The draft collective bargaining agreement prepared by the commission is subject to mandatory discussion by the employees of the organization. The draft should be finalized by the commission considering all comments and proposals. In case of any disagreement over the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, such collective bargaining agreement and minutes of disagreement must be signed within one month from the moment such disagreement occurred.
Signing
A signed collective bargaining agreement must be submitted to the local labour inspection for review and monitoring within one month following the signing.
The labour legislation of the RK allows including all items that have not been agreed in the minutes of the disagreement and excluding those from negotiations.
The collective bargaining agreement is an important document that may prevent disputes, strikes and instability in the company, and therefore it may be worthwhile to plan in advance all its drafting and signing stages.
Information contained in this Client Update is of a general nature and cannot be used as legal advice or recommendation. Please note that Kazakhstan is an emerging economy, and its legislation and legal system are in constant development. Should you have any questions or want to discuss matters addressed in this Client Update, please contact us.
