Collective Agreements are Legally Enforceable Documents

Collective Agreements are Legally Enforceable Documents 

In a recent decision by the First Hall, Civil Court presided by Judge Azzoppardi (Malta Shipyards Ltd vs GWU (10th October 2005)), the court held that the maxim "pacta sunt servanda" (i.e. contracts are binding and should be honoured) should also be applied to collective agreements.

In this case, the union concerned had not observed the procedure to be undertaken prior to taking industrial action as prescribed in the collective agreement. In so doing, the court declared, the union was therefore breaching a binding document that could give rise to damages (the court is still to assess the issue of damages).

The above decision is extremely important because it puts to rest a debate that has been ongoing for quite a number of years with regard to the enforceability of the procedural provisions of a collective agreement. It is now clear that both the conditions of employment found in the collective agreement and the procedural terms, which bind the union and the employer in question, are binding to either party and may be enforced in a court of law.