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Employment Relations Act 2000

Collective bargaining - Bargaining

48: When requirement for secret ballot does not apply

You could also call this:

“Rules about voting in secret don't apply when making a new deal to replace an old one with the same people and jobs”

You don’t always need to have a secret ballot when bargaining for a new collective agreement. This rule applies in certain situations.

If you’re trying to replace an existing collective agreement with a new one, you might not need a secret ballot. This is true if the new agreement involves at least two of the same parties as the old one. Also, the new agreement can’t cover more types of work or workers than the old one did.

When these conditions are met, you don’t have to follow the rules about secret ballots that are described in Sections 45, 46, and 47 of this law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM58684.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Government and voting > Elections
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47: When secret ballots required after employer initiates bargaining for single collective agreement, or

“When workers need to vote on joining a group deal their boss wants”

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49: Parties joining bargaining after it begins, or

“New groups can join ongoing talks if they follow the rules and get permission from those already talking.”

Part 5 Collective bargaining
Bargaining

48When requirement for secret ballot does not apply

  1. Sections 45, 46, and 47 do not apply to bargaining for a single collective agreement if—

  2. the collective agreement is intended to replace a single collective agreement that is in force; and
    1. the parties to the bargaining are 2 or more of the same parties to the single collective agreement; and
      1. the scope of the coverage clause is not wider than the scope of the coverage clause in the single collective agreement.