CHAPTER I - General provisions
Art. 214. - In order to ensure a climate of stability and social peace, the law shall regulate the manner in which consultations and a permanent dialogue between social partners take place.
Art. 215. - The Economic and Social Council shall be a three-party, autonomous public institution of national interest, established for the purpose of facilitating nation-wide social dialogue.
Art. 216. - Consultative committees, attached to ministries and prefect's offices, shall operate, under the law, to uphold social dialogue between the public administration, trade unions, and employers' organisations.
CHAPTER II - Trade unions
Art. 217. - (1) Trade unions shall be independent legal entities, without a patrimony purpose, established for the defence and promotion of collective and individual rights, as well as of the professional, economic, social, cultural, and sporting interests of their members.
(2) A special law shall regulate the terms and procedure according to which trade unions acquire a legal status.
(3) Trade union organisations shall have the right to regulate, in their own by-laws, their way of organisation, association and management, provided the by-laws are adopted using a democratic procedure, under the law.
Art. 218. - Trade unions shall participate, through their own representatives, under the law, in negotiations and the conclusion of collective labour contracts, in talks or agreements with the public authorities and the employers' organisations, as well as in structures typical of the social dialogue.
Art. 219. - Trade unions may become associated, based on their free consent, under the law, to federations, confederations, or territorial unions.
Art. 220. - The employees' exercise of their trade union rights shall be acknowledged by all employers, their rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution being observed, in compliance with the provisions of the present code and the special laws.
Art. 221. - (1) All intervention by public authorities liable to limit trade union rights or to prevent their lawful exercise shall be prohibited.
(2) Also, all interference by the employers or employers' organisations, either directly or by means of their representatives or members, in the establishment of trade unions or in the exercise of their rights shall be prohibited.
Art. 222. - At the request of their members, trade unions may represent the latter in conflicts of rights.
Art. 223. - (1) The representatives elected in the management bodies of trade unions shall be protected by law against all forms of conditioning, constraints or limitations of the exercise of their offices.
(2) For the duration of their term of office, as well as 2 years after its termination, the representatives elected in trade union management bodies may not be dismissed for reasons not relating to that employee's person, for being professionally unfit, or for reasons relating to the carrying out the office received from the employees in the company.
(3) Other measures for protecting the persons elected in trade union management bodies are provided for in special laws and in the applicable collective labour contract.
CHAPTER III - Employees' representatives
Art. 224. - (1) With employers who have more than 20 employees, and if none of them is a trade union member, the interests of such employees may be promoted and defended by their representatives, specially elected and authorised for this purpose.
(2) Employees' representatives shall be elected in the employees' general meeting, based on the vote by at least half of the total number of employees.
(3) Employees' representatives may not carry out activities which, under the law, may only be carried out by trade unions.
Art. 225. - (1) Employees who have turned 21 years of age and have worked with the employer for at least one year without interruptions may be elected as employees' representatives.
(2) The length-or-service condition stipulated under paragraph (1) shall not be necessary when electing the employees' representatives in newly established employing companies.
(3) The number of elected employees' representatives shall be mutually agreed upon with the employer, according to his/her numbers of employees.
(4) The duration of the office of the employees' representatives shall not exceed 2 years.
Art. 226. - The employees' representatives shall have the following main responsibilities:
a) to monitor the compliance with the employees' rights, in accordance with the legislation in force, the applicable collective labour contract, the individual labour contracts, and the internal regulations;
b) to participate in the drawing up of the internal regulations;
c) to promote the employees' interests concerning wages, work conditions, work time and rest time, labour stability, as well as any other professional, economic and social interests related to labour relationships;
d) to notify the labour inspectorate about non-compliance with the provisions of the law and the applicable collective labour contract.
Art. 227. - The responsibilities of the employees' representatives, the way these are met, as well as the duration and limits of their office shall be set forth in the employees' general meetings, under the law.
Art. 228. - The time allocated to the employees' representatives in view of carrying out the office received shall be 20 hours/month and shall be deemed as actual work time, being paid accordingly.
Art. 229. - Throughout the duration of their office, the employees' representatives may not be dismissed for reasons not relating to that employee's person, for being professionally unfit, or for reasons relating to carrying out the office received from the employees.
CHAPTER IV - Employers' organisations
Art. 230. - The owner, called employer in the present code, shall be a registered legal entity or a natural entity authorised under the law, that manages and uses his/her/its capital, irrespective of its kind, for the purpose of obtaining a profit under competitive conditions and who employs paid labour force.
Art. 231. - (1) The employers' organisations shall be autonomous organisations of the owners, with no political character, established as private-law legal entities, without a patrimony purpose.
(2) Employer's organisations may establish employers' unions, federations, confederations, or other associative structures.
Art. 232. - (1) The employers' organisations shall represent, support, and defend the interests of their members in their relationships with the public authorities, trade unions and other legal and natural entities, depending on the object and purpose of their activity, according to their own by-laws and the provisions of the law.
(2) At the request of their members, the employers' organisations may represent the latter in the event of conflicts of rights.
Art. 233. - The members of the elected management bodies of the employers' organisations shall be protected by law against all forms of discrimination, conditioning, constraint or limitation of the exercise of their functions.
Art. 234. - The employers' organisations shall be social partners in collective labour relationships, and shall participate, through their own representatives, in the negotiation and conclusion of collective labour contracts, in talks and agreements with the public authorities and the trade unions, as well as in the structures typical of the social dialogue.
Art. 235. - (1) The establishment and functioning of employers' organisations, as well as the exercise of their rights and obligations, shall be regulated by the law.
(2) All interventions by the public authorities shall be prohibited which are likely to limit the exercise of the employers' rights, or to prevent their lawful exercise.
(3) All interference by the employees or a trade union, directly or through their representatives or the trade union members, in the establishment of employers' organisations or in the exercise of their rights shall be prohibited as well.
