Countries › Peru › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Unions, collective bargaining and strikes in Peru: 20 worker company unions, union protection, one year agreements and strike rules

Unions, collective bargaining and strikes in Peru: 20 worker company unions, union protection, one year agreements and strike rules

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

A company union needs at least 20 members (50 for other levels), registration with the labor authority is a formality, and union leaders, founders, candidates and negotiators have protection against dismissal or transfer without just cause. Companies must bargain once they have operated for a year; the list of demands is filed 60 to 30 days before the current agreement expires, talks start within 10 days, and agreements last one year unless the parties agree otherwise. If talks fail, workers can choose arbitration, where the award must adopt one side's final offer, or strike with a majority vote and 5 business days' notice (10 in essential services), during which pay is suspended.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT based amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 (Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited by SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum members for a company union	20 workersTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 14, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum members for other unions (branch, trade)	50 workersTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 14, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Default term of a collective agreement	1 yearsTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 43 c), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Company age from which bargaining is mandatory	1 yearsTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 41, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Strike notice to employer and labor authority	5 business daysTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 73 c), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Strike notice in essential public services	10 business daysTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 73 c), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Pay owed during a lawful strike	None (contract suspended) ruleTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 77 b), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Interest arbitration must adopt one party's final offer	Yes flagTUO LRCT (DS 010-2003-TR) art. 65, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Workers can join a union during the trial period. Unions need at least 20 workers for a company union, or 50 for unions of another kind, to be formed and to continue. In companies too small to form a union, workers can elect two delegates to represent them. A union is formed in an assembly whose minutes are certified by a notary or justice of the peace, and is registered with the labor authority; registration is formal, not constitutive, and can only be refused if requirements are not met.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 12, 14 to 17, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Union protection (fuero sindical) guarantees that protected workers are not dismissed or transferred to another establishment without proven just cause or their consent. It covers members of unions in formation from the registration request until three months after; union board members and section delegates; elected delegates of small companies and worker representatives; candidates from 30 days before to 30 days after the election; and members of the negotiating committee until three months after the procedure ends.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 30 and 31, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. A collective agreement regulates pay, working conditions, productivity and other matters, and is signed by one or more unions (or elected representatives where there is none) with one or more employers. Only companies that have operated for at least one year are required to bargain. It binds the parties, the people they represent and later hires, except management and trust staff; it automatically modifies individual contracts, runs from the day after the prior agreement expires, lasts the agreed period or one year by default, and stays in force until replaced.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 41 to 43, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Bargaining starts with a list of demands in the form of a draft agreement, filed no earlier than 60 and no later than 30 calendar days before the current agreement expires; a late filing delays the new agreement's start proportionally. The employer must receive it, both sides must bargain in good faith, the employer must give the information needed (which workers must keep confidential), and talks must start within 10 calendar days. The labor authority can value the demands and examine the company's finances.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 51 to 57, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. If direct talks or conciliation fail, the parties may submit the dispute to arbitration, or the workers may instead strike; during a strike, workers may propose arbitration, which requires the employer's acceptance. The award cannot invent a different solution or mix proposals: it must adopt one side's final offer in full, though as an equity ruling it may soften extreme positions.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 61 to 65, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. A strike is a collective, voluntary and peaceful stoppage with abandonment of the workplace. It requires that it defend the workers' socioeconomic or professional interests, be approved by the majority as the bylaws provide (minutes certified by a notary or justice of the peace), be notified to the employer and the labor authority at least 5 business days ahead (10 in essential public services), and that the dispute not have gone to arbitration. The authority must declare a non compliant strike inadmissible within three business days.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 72 to 74, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. A lawful strike suspends the individual contracts, including the duty to pay, without ending them, and does not stop length of service accruing for CTS; management, trust staff and workers needed for safety and restart must keep working. Go slows, sit ins, work to rule and blocking access are not protected. In essential public services (health, cleaning and sanitation, electricity, water, gas and fuel, funeral services, prisons, communications and telecommunications, transport, strategic services and others set by law) a minimum service must be kept, which the employer communicates each year in the first quarter. A strike is illegal if held despite being declared inadmissible, if violent, if irregular, if minimum services are not kept, or if not lifted after the award or final decision.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley de Relaciones Colectivas de Trabajo (Decreto Supremo Nº 010-2003-TR), Art. 77, 78, 81 to 84, 2003-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Worked example

A US owned call centre in Lima with 400 workers receives notice that 35 agents have formed a company union and requested registration; from that request until three months later, they cannot be dismissed or transferred without proven cause (DS 010-2003-TR art. 14 and 31).
The company has operated for more than a year, so when the union files its list of demands it must receive it, share the information needed and start talks within 10 calendar days (art. 41, 54, 55 and 57).
Talks fail; the union votes to strike and gives 5 business days' notice. The company does not pay strikers for strike days, but CTS service time keeps running (art. 73 and 77).
Both sides then agree to arbitration; the tribunal must pick one side's final offer in full, which will run for one year unless another term is set (art. 43, 63 and 65).

Step by step

Treat union formation notices seriously: identify protected workers and freeze dismissals and transfers without solid cause (DS 010-2003-TR art. 30 and 31).
Prepare a negotiating position and the financial information the union may request before the list of demands arrives (art. 55).
Calendar the window of 60 to 30 days before your agreement expires (art. 52).
If you provide an essential public service, communicate minimum service staffing in the first quarter each year (art. 82 and 83).
When a strike notice arrives, check the vote, notice period and arbitration status and ask the labor authority to rule within three business days if requirements are missing (art. 73 and 74).
In arbitration, make your final offer realistic: the award must adopt one side's offer in full (art. 65).

Common traps

Agreements stay in force until replaced, so benefits granted in one year carry forward unless renegotiated (DS 010-2003-TR art. 43 d).
Agreements apply to later hires automatically, but not to management or trust staff (art. 42).
Using outsourcing or temporary staff to replace strikers or limit union rights is prohibited (Ley 29245 art. 7; Ley 27626 art. 4 and 8).
Dismissing a worker for union activity is a void dismissal with reinstatement and back pay (DS 003-97-TR art. 29 a and 40).
Final offer arbitration rewards moderate proposals; an extreme offer risks the other side's offer being adopted in full (art. 65).

Sources

← Profit sharing in Peru: 5, 8 or 10 percent of pre tax income for companies above 20 workers, how it is split and when it is paidOutsourcing and temporary staffing in Peru: specialised outsourcing under Ley 29245, staffing agencies, the 20 percent cap and joint liability →

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