Ⅰ. Concept

1. Concept of collective agreement

A collective agreement is an agreed set of rules between the labor union and the employer concerning wage, working hours, and other issues. Even though it is an agreement on working conditions between the two parties, this agreement has normative effects on labor relations.

2. Contracting procedures for collective agreements


Article 31 (Drawing up of collective agreements)
① collective agreements shall be in writing, and both parties concerned shall sign their names or affix their seals thereto.
② The parties to collective agreements shall report the conclusion of collective agreements to the Administrative Authorities within fifteen days of the date of such conclusion.
③ If any provision of a collective agreement is determined to be unlawful, the Administrative Authorities may, upon resolution of the Labor Relations Commission, order amendment of that collective agreement.



A collective agreement that was not prepared in the method stipulated in Article 31(1) of the Trade Union Act is null and void. Article 31(1) of this Act stipulates that a collective agreement shall be prepared in writing and both parties shall affix their signatures and seals thereto. The purpose of the procedure is to clarify the details of the collective agreement, to prevent any future disputes surrounding those details, and to confirm the final positions of both parties to ensure truthfulness in the collective bargaining process. Therefore, if collective bargaining does not follow this procedure, any agreement cannot remain effective.

(1) The agreement shall be written
A collective agreement may be a general agreement on labor relations, but the contents shall be in writing.

(2) The agreement shall be effective only if it is signed and sealed
The representative of the labor union or union chairman shall sign and seal, and the business owner shall do the same on the company’s behalf.

(3) The agreement shall be reported
The parties to the collective agreement shall make a report of the collective agreement to administrative agencies within fifteen days from the date of its conclusion. However, this report of the collective agreement is not a formal approval; therefore, it is unrelated to the effect of the collective agreement.

Ⅱ. Valid Term of Collective Agreements


Article 32 (Valid Term of collective agreements)
① No collective agreement shall have a term of validity exceeding three years(revised on Dec 10, 2020).
② In cases where a collective agreement does not specify a term of validity or has a term exceeding the period stipulated in paragraph (1), it shall automatically be deemed to be three years.
③ Unless otherwise provided in a separate agreement, if no new collective agreement is concluded by the expiry date of the existing agreement even though the parties have continuously engaged in collective bargaining before and after the expiry date, the existing collective agreement shall remain effective for up to three months after its expiry date. If no conclusion is made on a new collective agreement after expiration of the extended effective term, the existing agreement shall be applicable only if the existing agreement specifically provides that it shall remain in effect until a new collective agreement is concluded, provided, however, that any one party concerned may terminate the collective agreement by giving notice to the other party six months in advance.


1) No collective agreement may be effective for longer than 3 years. The effects of a collective agreement are lost when its term of validity is exhausted, but the parts concerning employee working conditions(normative section) shall remain effective as being part of the contract of employment(Article 32).

2) If the employer and the union have yet to reach a collective agreement despite their good-faith commitment to working out a new agreement to replace the existing one, the existing collective agreement shall remain valid for 3 more months from the date of its termination.

3) If there is an additional agreement within the document that the existing collective agreement shall remain valid after its effective duration expires and until a new agreement is concluded, the existing agreement shall be applicable in that way. However, either party may terminate the existing collective agreement by giving notice to the other party 6 months before the date the party wants the agreement to be terminated.


The purpose of an upper limit for the effective period of a collective agreement
If a collective agreement were allowed to remain effective for an excessively long period of time, it would probably serve as an unnecessary restriction to both parties. Furthermore, it would be contradictory to the fundamental purpose of the collective agreement, which is to maintain or improve working conditions and stabilize labor relations. Accordingly, in order to keep a collective agreement relevant, it is necessary to put an upper limit on the effective term.87)