Legitimization of Collective Bargaining Agreements
As a result of a reform to Federal Labor Law reform published on May 1, 2019 in the Mexican Federal Official Gazette, new provisions concerning the entering, revision and registration of collective bargaining agreements (“CBA”) came into force.
The purpose of the new legitimization process is, among others, to prove that workers acknowledge and support the content of the CBA coming from the previous labor system, specifically those currently submitted before the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards. For the completion of such procedure, the authorities established a term of four years, which ended on May 2, 2023.
The legitimization of the CBA is carried out before the Federal Labor Conciliation and Registration Center ("FLCRC"), which was created based on the legal reform following the disappearance of the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards.
In order to file a “call for a strike for the execution of a CBA”, the union filing the call for a strike must prove that it has the support of at least 30% of the workforce of the company. If there is more than one labor union in the company with a CBA, the labor union with majority representation of the workers will be the one to carry out the negotiations of the employees' working conditions, that is to say, said labor union will be the only one entitled to manage and request the revision of the standing CBA at the workplace.
For new agreements, once the union has the certificate of representativeness, the labor union must consult with the employees on the content of the CBA through the voting procedure established by law, before submitting it to the FLCRC authorities. For this purpose, the labor union will issue a call for the consultation and the employer must provide all employees with a printed copy of the CBA at least three business days prior to the voting date. The content of the CBA must be approved by the majority of the workers covered by it so the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare can be able to validate it.
It is important to note that all CBA were required to be legitimized within four years following the entry into force of the aforementioned reform, otherwise they are deemed as terminated. If the legitimization process was not carried out within the term established by law, or if the workers vote against it in any legitimization process, the CBA will be considered as terminated. In these cases, the benefits and conditions contemplated in the agreement will be retained in favor of the workers. In turn, the workers may organize themselves to seek, if they wish, a new labor union to represent them. Additionally, it is important to note that labor union dues will not be mandatory for employees; therefore, if they do not agree to pay them, they will not be deducted.
CBA must be reviewed annually with respect to wages, and every two years for a comprehensive review. All comprehensive reviews must be consulted with and approved by the employees through a free and secret vote.
It should be noted that companies doing business within Mexico, the United States and Canada are not only subject to their respective national legal provisions, but also need to comply with the agreements assumed in the T-MEC regarding collective bargaining and freedom of labor union association. Among them is the adoption of the rapid response labor mechanism, through which trading partners can demand each other labor law compliance and, if they don’t comply, they have the possibility of issuing trade sanctions, which can range from the imposition of tariffs to blocking imports. Although the labor union oversees enforcing the CBA, such sanctions are aimed directly to the companies.
February 2026.
This article was originally written in 2021 by Victor M. Diaz and Mauricio Garza, and was updated on February 2026. Please send any questions or comments to info@jata.mx. One of the original authors was a Partner at JATA – J.A. Treviño Abogados, and the other is a Labor Counsel of the Firm and may be contacted at vdiaz@jata.mx. JATA is a Mexican law firm with offices in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, and in Houston, Texas.
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