Article 1: The representativeness of the professional organizations of workers shall be recognized within the geographical or occupational" framework, as follows:

· Geographical framework

· Occupational framework

Article 2: Trade unions at the enterprise or establishment level shall be registered by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation, in accordance with Prakas 277 of October 11, 2000.

Article 3: Union by-laws shall determine whether the union's purpose is to represent all the workers of the company or establishment or only one or more specific categories of workers as determined by the by-laws. In the latter case, only workers belonging to the category or categories in question may join the union. Trade unions or associations that include both employers and workers shall be forbidden.

Union by-laws shall establish the conditions for secret-ballot election of leaders. Their term of office, however, may not exceed two years, with the possibility of re-election.

Any worker belonging to a union who runs for a leadership position in that union shall enjoy the same protection from dismissal as a shop steward. This protection begins 45 days prior to the election and ending, if she/lie is not elected, 45 days after the election. To this end, the employer must be duly informed of the candidacy by any reliable means. However, the employer shall only be required to comply with this provision once per each election of union leaders.

The term of office of the leaders of a union at the enterprise or establishment level shall not be terminated by the expiration of their labor contract, unless so specified in the by-laws.

Any union leader who has been laid off either temporarily or permanently for economic or other reasons shall retain the right of access to the enterprise, for the purpose of fulfilling the responsibilities of her/his Union office. Ariy union leader, who committed wrongs and was dismissed with legal cause, shall resign her/his post from the union.

Article 4: Beginning when the application for. registration is submitted, all workers who are founding members of a union, as well as those who voluntarily join the union during the application period, shall enjoy the same protection as shop stewards. This protection shall last for a period of 30 days following the date of registration of the union.

Beyond the date specified in the preceding paragraph, this protection shall cover, under the conditions specified in Articles 282 and 293 of the Labor Code, three union leaders and, for unions with more than 200 members, one worker for each additional 200 members of (he union. Better protection may be obtained through a collective bargaining agreement. For purposes of this protection, the union shall communicate to the employer by any reliable means the names of the individuals to be protected. A copy of this communication must be sent to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation.

Should the number of union members be challenged, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation shall conduct an investigation. For this purpose, the interested parties, especially those parties which are the subjects of the investigation shall be required to provide the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation with all evidence that could establish their rights.

Any employer who lays off or fires a worker protected under the foregoing provisions, without prior authorization from the labor inspector, or who causes her/him any harm whatsoever, shall be subject to a fine under Article 373 of the Labor Code. Moreover. Measures taken by the employer in violation of this provision shall be null and void. The Ministry will immediately take the utmost measures within its competence to reinstate any worker so dismissed to her/his position (even if the case is pending before the court of relevant juridiction). These measures include the cooperation with other Ministries as prescribed in the Inter-ministerial Prakas 2588 of 22 July 2000.

Article 5: Any union established at the enterprise or establishment level in accordance with Article 268 of the Labor Code shall have the right to represent the interests of its members under the conditions specified in the Labor Code.

The same right shall be recognized for unions at the level above the enterprise or establishment level, such as industry- or industrial branch-wide unions, or national unions, insofar as they have members in the enterprise or establishment in question. Such unions may appoint a union representative at the enterprise or establishment level from among their members in that unit. The number of union representatives may be increased through collective bargaining.

The union representative appointed in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall enjoy the protection provided under Article 293 of the Labor Code.

Any union established within an enterprise or establishment must be in a position to provide proof of its representativeness, which shall be evaluated in light of the criteria in Article 277 of the Labor Code.

Any worker who belongs to a union may request in writing at least 15 days in advance that her/his union dues be withheld from her/his salary, in accordance with Article 129 of the Labor Code, and the employer shall properly comply with such requests. At the request of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation, the employer shall provide certification of the number of workers who have requested that their union dues be withheld, together with the names of these the name of the union or unions to benefit from this procedure. This certification shall constitute additional proof for purposes of determining the representativeness of the unions.

Article 6: If a union has in its membership an absolute majority of the workers of an enterprise or establishment, it shall be entitled to represent all the workers of said company or establishment. If it has in its membership an absolute majority of a given category of workers within an enterprise or establishment, it shall be entitled to represent all the workers belonging to said category. In all other cases each union shall only have the right to represent its own members.

The Ministry .of Social Affairs. Labor. Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation shall certify the status of a union as most representative at the request of said union, which must furnish any appropriate means of proof, in particular, the means of proof specified in Article 277 of the Labor Code. However/before issuing this certification, it shall send a registered letter or hand-deliver a letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the employer and the unions represented on the Labor Advisory Committee, inviting them to submit their comments and objections within a period of 15. Any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest may also submit comments or any objections within the same time period. Beyond that time, if there is no objection, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation shall issue the certification in question.

In the event the Ministry decides not to certify the most representativeness of the union, and the union objects to this decision, the union may request the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation organize a secret-ballot vote, in which case all workers or category of workers that the union represents shall participate, subject to the provisions of Article 7 paragraph 2 below. If more than one union have presented evidence to the Ministry that they represent workers in that enterprise or establishment, all such unions shall appear on the ballot. The union that obtains the majority of validly cast votes at that time shall be recognized as most representative. If any union does not obtain a majority of votes cast at the election, that union shall be recognized as a minority union.

The most representative union shall be recognized as such for a minimum of two years. Beyond that time, any natural or legal person with a legitimate interest may request that a new vote be taken for the purpose of verifying whether the union shall retain its status as most representative union.

Articie 7: The date and place of the vote shall be announced to the workers at least seven full days prior to the holding of the vote. For this purpose, the employer must permit the entry of an official designated by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation, who will give the workers all pertinent information concerning the vote. This official will in particular convey the information that all the workers referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article 7 may take part in the vote. Moreover, the official designated by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation shall, in consultation with the employer and the union concerned, make the practical arrangements for the vote to take place regarding voting hours; polling places, etc.

Any worker regularly employed by the enterprise or establishment for at least three months, including the probation period, shall be entitled to take part in the vote. If the union represents only a given category of workers, only workers belonging to that category may take part in the vote.

The unions may conduct any pertinent informational campaign with regard to the vote such as the date and place, type of ballot and voting procedure, etc. This campaign shall be conducted outside of working hours or, with the consent of the employer and under the terms and conditions agreed upon with the employee, within the enterprise or establishment during working hours.

The ballots must be made in such a way as to avoid confusion. Insofar as possible, they will contain only the question (for example. "Do you wish to be represented by union X?) with boxes to check (one for yes, one for no). In case more than one union is on the ballot, the ballot shall contain the name of each union with a box to check next to it. They might, in particular, bear the printed photograph of the head of the union or unions, along with the name of the union and the box to check next to the photograph or photographs, to help the workers who cannot read to make their choice.

The vote must take place during working hours if the employer consents, or immediately prior to or after working hours if the employer does not consent.

The vote must be held at the workplace if the employer consents, or at a nearby place if he docs not.

The vote shall be presided over by an official appointed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation. This official shall also designate one or more people to verify the propriety of the vote. Representatives of the relevant nation-wide union federations, national and international organizations arc entitled to observe the propriety of the vote.

Any union with an interest in the outcome of the vote shall be entitled to designate one or more assistant ballot examiners, who will assist the official appointed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation with the counting of the votes.

With the consent of all the parties concerned, the Minister of Social Affairs, Labor, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation may entrust a third party, or a public or private institution in which the parties concerned have confidence, with the task of organizing and supervising (he vote.

The votes shall be counted publicly immediately following the closing of the polls. The results shall be announced as soon as the count is completed by the party responsible for supervising the vote.

The union that has been recognized as the most representative by that vote shall begin to hold that status as soon as the results of the vote have been announced under the terms of the preceding paragraph.

All appeals challenging the propriety of the vote or its results must be filed with the court of competent Jurisdiction within a period of eight full days beginning on the day after the results are announced. These appeals shall not have the effect of suspending implementation of the results of the election.

Article 8: Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 6 paragraph I above, minority unions shall retain the right to represent their members.

Minority unions may also take part in the preparation of the draft collective bargaining agreement if any union holding the status as representative or most representative invites them to take part.

Article 9: Any union with the status of most representative union shall have the right to approach the employer for the purpose of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement applying to all the workers which it represents. In this case, the employer shall be required to negotiate with the union.

In any enterprise or establishment where there is no union holding status as most representative, all the unions with members at the enterprise or establishment, or a number of them, may Join together to submit a Joint draft of a collective bargaining agreement. The employer shall be required to negotiate if all these unions represent the majority of workers in the enterprise or establishment, or category of personnel that the collective bargaining agreement seeks to cover. In the event of a challenge as to whether representativeness is established with regard to a majority of workers in an enterprise or establishment, a vote shall be held in accordance with the rules of Article 6 above.

Where minority unions together do not represent a majority of workers in the enterprise or establishment, or category of workers that the collective bargaining agreement seeks to cover, the employer shall be required to negotiate with such unions only on behalf of their members who they represent.

The unions which have the right to bargain collectively with the employer shall determine freely the rules for drawing up a draft collective bargaining agreement and for the composition of the committee responsible for negotiating it.

However, if a union has received the absolute majority of the votes cast at the time the above vote was taken, it will be recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for purposes of representing all the workers concerned with the negotiations.

Article 10: The employer required to bargain must meet with the representatives designated by his union counterpart. During this negotiation, wages, bonuses and other benefits shall not be taken away from negotiators.

Article 11: The requirement of all parties to bargain collectively includes, the requirement:

Article 12: The parties to the collective bargaining process shall establish freely the schedule of the meetings for the bargaining purposes. This schedule, however, cannot have a duration of less than 30 calendar days.

The notification to each other on the subject and the schedule for collective bargaining shall be sent by registered or by hand delivered letter with acknowledgment of the receipt.

Once this schedule initially established has expired, the parties to the bargaining process may extend it at their discretion, unless they decide to terminate the bargaining process. In this case before proceeding to a strike or lockout, the parties shall be required to comply with the procedures in Chapter XII of the Labor Law relating to the settlement of labor disputes and Chapter XIII of the Labor Law relating to strikes-lockouts.

Article 13: The effects of a collective bargaining agreement reached at the company or establishment level shall be those specified in Chapter V of the Labor Code.

Article 14: This Prakas shall enter into force on the date of its signature.

Signed and sealed by