Post Office Act 1969

11 (1) Except so far as the Post Office is satisfied that adequate machinery exists for achieving the purposes of this paragraph, being machinery for operation at national level or local level or a level falling between those levels and appearing to the Post Office to be appropriate, it shall be the duty of the Post Office to seek consultation with any organisation appearing to it to be appropriate with a view to the conclusion between it and that organisation of such agreements as appear to the parties to be desirable with respect to the establishment and maintenance, for operation at any such level as aforesaid, of machinery for—

(a) the settlement by negotiation of terms and conditions of employment of persons employed by the Post Office, with provision for reference to arbitration in default of such settlement in such cases as may be determined by or under the agreements ;

(b) the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting efficiency, in any respect, in the carrying on by the Post Office of its activities, including in particular, the promotion and encouragement of the training of persons employed by the Post Office; and

(c) the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting the safety, health and welfare of persons so employed.

(2) The Post Office shall send to the Minister and the Secretary of State copies of any such agreement as aforesaid and of any instrument varying the terms of any such agreement.

(3) Where it falls to the Post Office to participate in the operation of machinery established under this paragraph and the operation involves discussion of a subject by other persons participating therein, the Post Office shall make available to those persons, at a reasonable time before the discussion is to take place, such information in its possession relating to the subject (other than information whose disclosure to those persons would, in the opinion of the Post Office, be undesirable in the national interest) as, after consultation with those persons, appears to the Post Office to be necessary to enable those persons to participate effectively in the discussion.

(4) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as prohibiting the Post Office from taking part together with other employers or organisations of employers in the establishment and maintenance of machinery for the settlement of terms and conditions of employment and the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting efficiency in the carrying on of their activities and the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting the safety, health and welfare of persons employed by them.

(5) In the application of sub-paragraph (2) above to Northern Ireland, for the reference to the Secretary of State there shall be substituted a reference to the Ministry of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland.