The decree that changed the length of time that collective agreements can be applied came into force on September 1, 2014. This represents the final measure negotiated within a framework of labor law related adjustments to be applied in Portugal that reached their conclusion at the end of June 2014. Apart from reducing the length of a valid agreement from 5 to 3 years, the decree also reduces its life from 18 to 12 months if negotiations have already been entered into. A second significant development is that it is now possible to invoke unfavorable economic conditions as the reason for suspending an agreement.
A new legal framework. The text that comes into force on September 1, 2014 states that a collective agreement, in the absence of renewal, loses its legitimacy 3 years after its end date (by reaching its end date, through termination, etc…) versus 5 years previously. Legitimacy of collective agreements that have already expired was a reform that was introduced in 2009. Law 55/2014, article 501 looks to reduce the period of time for renegotiating an agreement from 18 months to 12 months...
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