The Protocol for the legitimation of existing collective labor agreements (the Protocol), was published in the Federal Official Gazette on July 31, 2019 and amended on January 19, 2021. The purpose of the Protocol is to establish the rules and procedures to carry out the referred legitimation.

Until the Federal Center for Labor Conciliation and Registration (the Center) of each venue begins its registration and verification functions, for the purposes of legitimizing a collective labor agreement, the union that owns said contract will notify the Ministry of Work and Social Security (STPS) in order for it to consult the employees to determine if the majority supports such contract.

The notice must be made electronically through the following link: https://legitimacioncontratoscolectivos.stps.gob.mx and it will be submmited at least 10 business days in advance of the date on which is expected the STPS will carry out the consultation, accompanied with the information and documentation established by the Protocol. Therefore, in addition, in the notice it must be manifested under oath that said information and documentation is reliable and truthful.

To carry out the consultation, each of the steps indicated in the Protocol, as well as in the modifications and additions to it, must be implemented. The STPS will carry out the registration and verification functions until the Center begins its functions at the respective venues. So far, the locations where the Center already operates are: Campeche, Campeche; Campeche, Ciudad del Carmen; Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez; Durango, Durango; Durango, Laguna; Estado de México, Toluca; Hidalgo, Pachuca; San Luis Potosí, SLP; Tabasco, Villahermosa; and Zacatecas, Zacatecas.

Finally, the STPS may request the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards to urge the unions that have collective agreements deposited with them to legitimize their collective agreements in accordance with the Protocol, preventing them that, if they do not do so before May 1, 2023, the collective agreement will be terminated. Therefore, although the unions still have time to carry out this legitimation process, the closer the date is for the prevention to be fulfilled, the greater the union’s demand to carry out said process.

At Trejo Gutiérrez Abogados, we have a group of experts in labor matters with more than 20 years in the market. Please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be glad to provide the personalized legal advice that you require, including legal advice to ensure due compliance with the Protocol for the legitimation of existing collective labor agreements.