collective agreement

American  

noun

1. the contract, written or oral, made between an employer or employers and a union on behalf of all the employees represented by the union.

2. the schedule of wages, rules, and working conditions agreed upon.

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collective agreement British  

noun

1. a negotiated agreement, which is not enforceable at law, between an employer and employees' representatives, covering rates of pay or terms and conditions of employment, or both

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Etymology

Origin of collective agreement

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

collective agreement

WestJet flight attendants ratified a new three-year collective agreement following a strike that grounded hundreds of flights in Canada earlier this month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

A spokeswoman for Stellantis said she couldn’t comment on Payne’s remarks, citing the pending start of negotiations on a new collective agreement with Unifor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The union has accused the carmaker of poor working conditions, withholding sick pay and covert redundancies, all enabled by the lack of a collective agreement to protect workers.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

But Sir Jeffrey used his experience, his heritage, his political capital to cajole his colleagues to collective agreement.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2024

Strikes and lockouts temporarily take the place of the orderly processes of joint negotiation, conciliation, and collective agreement as in the spring of 1922.

From The Coming of Coal by Robert W. Bruere