Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to the contrary, if, in the judgment of a school employer, an emergency or shortage of day-to-day substitute teachers exists under 24 Pa.C.S. § 8346(b) (relating to termination of annuities), the school employer may hire an annuitant, as defined in 24 Pa.C.S. § 8102 (relating to definitions), regardless of whether the school employer first attempts to secure nonretired personnel, except that the school employer shall comply with section 1125.1(d)(2)¹ by first offering the work to any certified professional employe on a recall list. The provisions of 24 Pa.C.S. § 8346(b) regarding the continuation of annuity or distributions to an annuitant who returns to school service during an emergency shall apply to annuitants hired under this section. Nothing under this section shall supersede or preempt a provision of an existing collective bargaining agreement between a school employer and an exclusive representative of the employes under the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L. 563, No. 195),² known as the “Public Employe Relations Act.”