The regulatory framework of collective agreements does not cover the bargaining expectations of unionized state employees

Abstract

This article aims to demonstrate that collective agreements have too many constitutional and legal restrictions to guarantee the active participation of state employees in their working conditions. To this purpose, there are mentioned the constitutional definition of the concept of collective bargaining, the contents of ILO conventions 151 and 154, and different judgments of the Constitutional Court and the Council of State, which tend to maintain these negotiating limitations. As a factual premise, there are described the content of employment conditions unilaterally prepared by the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the restrictive interpretations made by the high courts and the public function to the regime of incentives.