HR Practice For Payroll Practitioners

HR Practice for Payroll Practitioners

Collective agreements

A collective agreement can be between the employer and one or more parties (unions that represent members who do the same type of work). Employees can form their own union if they form an incorporated society or they can become a member of a union and be represented in negotiations by the union. In some workplaces you may find that there are a number of unions wanting to represent employees present in the workplace. There is a range of rules involved with the management and application of a collective. Let’s have a look at some of the key ones: If more than one union applies to negotiate for the same group of workers the employer has the right to ask them to consolidate and become parties to one collective agreement.

50 Consolidation of bargaining (1) This section applies if--- (a)

an employer receives 2 or more notices under section 42 from different unions;

and

(b)

the notices relate, in whole or in part, to the same type of work.

(2) The employer may, within 40 days after receiving the first notice, request each union concerned to consolidate the bargaining initiated by each notice into bargaining for a single collective agreement. Each union receiving a request under subsection (2) must, within 30 days after receiving the request, --- (a) agree to the request; or (b) withdraw the notice given under section 42. (4) A union that does not comply with subsection (3) is to be treated as if it had withdrawn the notice given under section 42. If all the unions concerned agree to the request, the bargaining initiated by each notice is consolidated into bargaining for a single collective agreement. (3) (5)

© New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association, Sep 2024, Ver 12

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