The Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 2004

Information required by the Agency for ballots and ascertaining union membership

4.—(1) After Article 84 of the 1992 Order insert—

“Information required by the Agency for purposes of settling recognition disputes

84AA.— (1) This Article applies where the Agency is exercising its functions under Article 84 with a view to bringing about a settlement of a recognition dispute.

(2) The parties to the recognition dispute may jointly request the Agency or a person nominated by the Agency to do either or both of the following—

(a) hold a ballot of the workers involved in the dispute;

(b) ascertain the union membership of the workers involved in the dispute.

(3) In the following provisions of this Article references to the Agency include references to a person nominated by the Agency; and anything done by such a person under this Article shall be regarded as done in the exercise of the functions of the Agency mentioned in paragraph (1).

(4) At any time after the Agency has received a request under paragraph (2), it may require any party to the recognition dispute—

(a) to supply the Agency with specified information concerning the workers involved in the dispute, and

(b) to do so within such period as it may specify.

(5) The Agency may impose a requirement under paragraph (4) only if it considers that it is necessary to do so—

(a) for the exercise of the functions mentioned in paragraph (1); and

(b) in order to enable or assist it to comply with the request.

(6) The recipient of a requirement under this Article must, within the specified period, supply the Agency with such of the specified information as is in the recipient’s possession.

(7) A request under paragraph (2) may be withdrawn by any party to the recognition dispute at any time and, if it is withdrawn, the Agency shall take no further steps to hold the ballot or to ascertain the union membership of the workers involved in the dispute.

(8) If a party to a recognition dispute fails to comply with paragraph (6), the Agency shall take no further steps to hold the ballot or to ascertain the union membership of the workers involved in the dispute.

(9) Nothing in this Article requires the Agency to comply with a request under paragraph (2).

(10) In this Article—

“party”, in relation to a recognition dispute, means each of the employers, employers' associations and trade unions involved in the dispute;

“a recognition dispute” means a trade dispute between employers and workers which is connected wholly or partly with the recognition by employers or employers' associations of the right of a trade union to represent workers in negotiations, consultations or other procedures relating to any of the matters mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) of Article 96(1);

“specified” means specified in a requirement under this Article; and

“workers” has the meaning given in Article 96(5).”.