In addition, unlike commercial contracts, which are governed by state law, the collective agreement is governed almost exclusively by federal labour law, which determines the issues that require collective bargaining, the timing and method of bargaining, and the consequences of not negotiating properly or adhering to a collective agreement. ==Law, Ford v. A.U.E.F. [1969],[8] the courts have already ruled that collective agreements are not binding. Second, the Industrial Relations Act 1971, introduced by Robert Carr (Minister of Labour in Edward Heath`s cabinet), provided that collective agreements were binding unless a written contractual clause provided otherwise ..