Collective Bargaining Agreement Mexico (Contrato Colectivo de Trabajo)

A Collective Bargaining Agreement Mexico (Contrato Colectivo de Trabajo — CCT) is a written agreement between one or more employers and one or more legally recognized trade unions (sindicatos), establishing the working conditions, wages, benefits, and labour relations framework applicable to all workers in the covered enterprise, establishment, or industry — governed by Articles 386 through 403 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) on 1 April 1970 and substantially reformed by the Decreto published in the DOF on 1 May 2019.

The constitutional basis for collective bargaining in Mexico rests in Article 123, Apartado A, Fracción XVIII of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, which guarantees workers and unions the right to strike (huelga) when an employer refuses to execute a contrato colectivo de trabajo, and Fracción XVI, which establishes the right of workers to organize into sindicatos. Article 386 LFT defines the CCT as an agreement between one or more legally registered unions and one or more employers — the union must have legal personality (personalidad jurídica) through registration with the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL), created by the 2019 reforma laboral as the successor to the former Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje for union registration purposes.

The 2019 reforma laboral (Decreto publicado en el DOF el 1 de mayo de 2019) fundamentally transformed the legal framework for collective bargaining in Mexico through four major changes: first, the transfer of union registration and CCT deposit functions from the former Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje and the Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) to the newly created Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) under Articles 590-A through 590-E LFT; second, the requirement that all existing collective agreements undergo a legitimacy vote (voto de legitimación) by the majority of workers covered within four years of the reform (i.e., by 2023) to confirm union representation; third, the requirement that any new CCT be ratified by a majority vote of the workers it will cover before it can become effective under Article 390 Bis LFT; and fourth, the prohibition on company unions (sindicatos de empresa) that are controlled by the employer — known historically as sindicatos blancos or charros — through strengthened independence requirements for union leadership elections.

Article 387 LFT creates the employer's legal obligation to execute a CCT when a union representing the majority of workers in the enterprise or establishment demands it. Failure to negotiate in good faith or execute a CCT after a valid demand gives the union the legal basis to call a huelga por firma de contrato colectivo (strike for the execution of a collective agreement) under Article 450 Fraction II LFT. The CFCRL must attempt conciliation before a strike can legally begin.

Article 391 LFT specifies the mandatory content of every CCT: names and domiciles of the contracting parties (the union and the employer); the company or establishments covered; duration of the agreement or statement that it is for an indefinite term; minimum wages and salary scales for all job categories; hours of work and rest; provisions for vacations; clauses relating to union security (cláusula de exclusión, admisión, or separation, where negotiated); training and safety obligations; and any other conditions negotiated by the parties. Article 394 LFT requires that every CCT include the right for the parties to revise it annually with respect to wage clauses (revisión anual de salarios) and every two years with respect to all other working conditions (revisión bienal de condiciones).

The CCT must be deposited with the CFCRL within the time period established under Articles 390 and 399 LFT to have legal effect — deposit (depósito) at the CFCRL makes the agreement binding on all workers in the covered establishment, whether or not they are union members, under Article 396 LFT (the extension — extensión — of collective agreement coverage to all workers). The CFCRL publishes a national registry of all deposited CCTs, accessible through the Registro de Contratos Colectivos de Trabajo.

For industries covered by a Contrato Ley under Articles 404–418 LFT, the individual enterprise CCT must be consistent with and cannot fall below the minimum conditions established by the applicable Contrato Ley for the sector.

A Collective Bargaining Agreement Mexico is needed in the following circumstances, each governed by the Ley Federal del Trabajo arts. 386–403 and the 2019 reforma laboral framework.

An employer must execute a CCT when a legally registered union (sindicato) with CFCRL registration presents a formal demand (emplazamiento) claiming to represent the majority of workers in the enterprise or establishment and requests the execution of a contrato colectivo under Article 387 LFT. The employer must verify the union's claim of majority representation through the CFCRL's union registry before obligating itself to negotiate with that union. If multiple unions compete for representation rights, the CFCRL conducts a representation election (recuento) under Article 388 LFT to determine which union holds the majority and therefore the right to negotiate the CCT.

A CCT is needed when a company expands operations to a new establishment covered by an existing CCT — Article 396 LFT extends the existing CCT's conditions to all workers at the new establishment covered by the union's registered jurisdiction (radio de acción), unless a separate CCT is negotiated for the new location.

The agreement must be executed when a company is acquired through a merger, acquisition, or sale of a going concern (transmisión de empresa) — under Article 41 LFT, the successor employer assumes all obligations under existing individual employment contracts, and any applicable CCT continues in effect with the acquiring company as the new employer party until renegotiated.

A CCT revision is needed every two years for general conditions and annually for wage clauses under Article 394 LFT — these revisions are negotiated through the same process as the original CCT and must be deposited with the CFCRL. Failure to revise wage clauses when a union demands it can also trigger a huelga por revisión de contrato colectivo under Article 450 Fraction III LFT.

New companies in industries covered by a Contrato Ley (Articles 404–418 LFT) — such as textile, garment, sugar production, or other declared industria-wide sectors — must execute a CCT consistent with the applicable Contrato Ley minimum conditions within the timeframes established by the CFCRL or the STPS.

Following the 2019 reforma laboral, all companies whose CCTs were executed before May 2019 were required to submit their agreements to the legitimacy vote (voto de legitimación) process by May 2023. Companies that failed to complete this process have CCTs of uncertain legal standing — in these cases, a new CCT must be negotiated and the legitimacy vote conducted before the agreement can be deposited and given legal effect under the reformed Article 390 Bis LFT.

A valid Collective Bargaining Agreement Mexico under Ley Federal del Trabajo arts. 386–403 must contain the mandatory elements specified in Article 391 LFT and the supplementary provisions introduced by the 2019 reforma laboral, as follows.

Identification of the Parties: Full legal name, CFCRL registration number, and registered domicile of the trade union (sindicato), including the name and title of the union's legal representative (representante legal del sindicato) duly authorized by the union's estatutos to sign collective agreements. Full legal name, RFC, and Registro Público de Comercio data of the employer (patrón or empresa), and the name and power of attorney (poder notarial ante Notario Público) reference for the employer's legal representative. Where multiple unions or multiple employers are parties, all must be identified.

Scope of Coverage: The enterprise, establishment, or establishments to which the CCT applies — including their addresses and the specific categories of workers covered (Article 391 Fraction III LFT). The CCT must clearly state whether it covers all workers in the establishment or only specific occupational categories, as this determines which individual employment contracts are subject to the CCT's minimum conditions under Article 396 LFT.

Duration: Whether the CCT is for a fixed term (tiempo determinado) or indefinite (tiempo indeterminado), with the effective date and — for fixed-term agreements — the termination date. Article 394 LFT requires that all CCTs include provisions for annual wage revision and biennial general revision regardless of the stated duration.

Wage Scales and Job Categories: A complete tabulador salarial (wage schedule) listing the minimum daily salary for each job category (categoría de trabajo) or occupational level covered by the CCT, expressed in MXN. All wages must equal or exceed the applicable CONASAMI minimum wage established annually by the Comisión Nacional de los Salarios Mínimos. The tabulador must be attached as an annex and is subject to annual revision under Article 394 LFT. The Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) for IMSS purposes must be derivable from the tabulador values plus the proportional daily value of all recurring benefits under Article 84 LFT.

Working Hours: The standard workday type (diurna, nocturna, or mixta under Article 60 LFT), maximum daily hours, weekly schedule, overtime authorization procedures, and weekend and holiday work provisions. The CCT may establish reduced working hours below the LFT maximums as a superior benefit.

Mandatory Benefits and Superior Benefits: All legally required benefits — aguinaldo (Article 87 LFT), vacation (Article 76 LFT as reformed in 2022), prima vacacional (Article 80 LFT), PTU (Articles 117–131 LFT) — plus any superior benefits (prestaciones superiores a la ley) negotiated by the union, such as food vouchers (vales de despensa), savings funds (caja de ahorro), private medical insurance (seguro de gastos médicos mayores), life insurance (seguro de vida), productivity bonuses, profit-sharing supplements, and seniority premiums exceeding the Article 162 LFT minimum.

Union Security Clause: Whether the CCT includes a cláusula de exclusión por admisión (requiring new workers to join the union as a condition of employment), a cláusula de exclusión por separación (requiring the employer to dismiss a worker expelled from the union), or neither — following the 2019 reforma laboral, these clauses are permitted but subject to the worker's right to freely join or leave the union under Article 358 LFT and constitutional freedom of association.

Training and Professional Development: Obligations of the employer and union regarding capacitación y adiestramiento (training and skill development) under Articles 153-A through 153-X LFT, including the composition and functions of the Comisión Mixta de Capacitación y Adiestramiento required under Article 153-I LFT.

Grievance Procedure: The mechanism for resolving individual and collective disputes arising under the CCT — including the internal grievance process, the role of the union's executive committee (comité ejecutivo) in representing workers in disputes, and referral to the CFCRL conciliation process under Article 684-A LFT for unresolved matters.

CFCRL Deposit and Legitimacy Vote: An express provision confirming that the CCT will be deposited with the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral within the statutory period following execution, and that the agreement was ratified by a majority vote of covered workers under Article 390 Bis LFT as required by the 2019 reforma laboral.

Forms-legal.com provides this Collective Bargaining Agreement Mexico template as a reference framework. Collective labour negotiations are governed by detailed procedural rules under the LFT and CFCRL regulations — employers and unions are strongly advised to engage licenciados en derecho specializing in derecho colectivo del trabajo to negotiate, draft, and register each CCT.