CONDITIONS FOR THE ORGANISATION OF INDUSTRIAL ACTION
1. The union must not call for the action, or authorise or endorse it, before the ballot has been held.
2. The action must be called by whoever was named as the person authorised to do so on the ballot paper.
3. Workers who were not balloted must not be called on to take action, unless they were not members of the union at the time of the ballot or it was not reasonable for the union to believe at the time of the ballot that they would be called on to take part. This means, for example, that the union can call out members who have joined the union since the date of the ballot or who have changed jobs since the ballot and moved into a category of workers that the union intends to call out. The union can also call out workers who were not balloted because it was not reasonably practicable to give them a vote. This could include, for example, workers who had only recently joined the employer and had not told the union of the change in their employment.
4. The action must take place within four weeks of the ballot. (If votes are cast on more than one day, the date of the ballot is the last of those days.) If the employer and the union agree, this can be extended to up to eight weeks, giving them more time to reach a negotiated settlement of the dispute. (The period can be further extended in certain circumstances if the action was initially prohibited by a court order but the order has since expired or been overturned.)
5. At least seven days before the action is due to begin, the union must write to the employer with certain information about the employees that the union intends to call on to take action, namely: the total number involved; the categories of employees involved and the number in each category; the workplaces involved and the number at each workplace; and an explanation of how those numbers have been arrived at. If the employer deducts union subscriptions from wages, the union has the alternative option of providing the employer with the relevant information by reference to the employees covered by the check-off arrangement. The union is under no obligation, however, to give the employer the names of the individuals who will be taking action. The notice must also say whether the action is intended to be continuous or discontinuous. If it is to be continuous, the employer must be given the start date. If it is to be discontinuous, the employer must be told the days on which it will happen.
REQUIRED CONTENTS OF A BALLOT PAPER
- One or both of the following questions (which can be framed in any way provided they require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer):
- Are you prepared to take part in or continue to take part in a strike?
- Are you prepared to take part in or continue to take part in action short of a strike
- The following statement, unqualified or commented upon:
If you take part in a strike or other industrial action, you may be in breach of your contract of employment. However, if you are dismissed for taking part in a strike or other industrial action which is called officially and is otherwise lawful, the dismissal will be unfair if it takes place fewer than twelve weeks after you started taking part in the action, and depending on the circumstances may be unfair if it takes place later.
- The address to which the paper must be returned.
- The date by which the paper must be returned.
- The person or persons authorised to call for industrial action if the vote is in favour of industrial action.
- The number of the paper. (The papers must be numbered with consecutive numbers.)
- If an independent scrutineer has been appointed, the name of the scrutineer.