Clause 7 - Postal votes for workers absent from ballot at workplace
Employment Relations Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk, Conservative)
I have a small point to make. The clause makes it clear that the CAC may not decide that the ballot is to be conducted by a combination of postal and workplace voting unless special factors apply. What sort of factors are we talking about? What does the Minister have in mind here?
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue. When the CAC calls a ballot, it must decide what method of voting should be used. It may choose between a postal ballot and a ballot held in the workplace. In certain circumstances where special factors apply, the CAC can decide that the ballot should be conducted by a combination of those two methods. In a postal ballot, the voting paper is sent to a worker's home address and he or she has a couple of weeks to return the vote to the balloting organisation. In contrast, a workplace ballot takes place on one or perhaps two designated days and workers must vote in person. The clause aims to ensure that no worker who has to vote at the workplace is prevented from voting because he or she is absent on the day of the ballot.
Currently, the law is inflexible. If the CAC decides that there should be a workplace ballot or a combination ballot with workplace voting, every worker who wishes to vote must do so in person at his
or her place of work on a single day. That means that workers who are off sick, on holiday or have taken other approved leave on the day of the ballot forfeit the opportunity to cast their vote. Every vote counts—I have said that on many occasions—and that is especially so when the outcome is subject to a minimum number voting in favour of recognition.
Clearly, it is undesirable for workers to miss out on the opportunity to vote on the important question of whether they should be represented by a union in collective bargaining, especially if they are unavoidably absent because they are on maternity or paternity leave, they are a magistrate sitting on the day of the ballot, or for any other good reason. The clause corrects the anomaly while allowing the CAC to arrange for a postal ballot for such workers. I am sure that the Committee will agree that it is a sensible and desirable measure.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon, Conservative)
I support the idea that ballots should be conducted entirely by post. The CAC annual report states:
''115 cases have now progressed to the balloting stage and 58 ballots have taken place. Of the ballots that have been concluded, 35 resulted in a majority voting in favour of recognition and in 23 the union failed to reach the required majority. The CAC has now commissioned 36 postal ballots, seven workplace ballots and 15 involving a combination of the two methods, most often a workplace ballot with the provision of a postal vote for those workers absent from the workplace on the day of the ballot.''
If any hon. Member thinks that I am quoting the report as a ploy to help the companies, I can assure them that that is not the case. The report continues:
''Postal ballots have nevertheless tended to provide the highest proportion of votes in favour of recognition.''
Despite that, I think that postal ballots should be in place in every circumstance. Things are moving that way, but I cannot understand why there are still any workplace ballots. If there will still be workplace ballots, will the Minister advise us as to whether there are regulations to deal with how those ballot are carried out?
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
The answer goes back to the earlier point about the test that someone must pass to become a qualified independent person to run and to access ballots. Employees of the companies that I mentioned have all passed that test.
The hon. Gentleman clearly has a strong view on whether there should be workplace or postal ballots. I think that the CAC should attend to the issue in the context of the particular industry, the relationship between the trade union and employer, and what normal practice has been in that sector. The CAC has the power to examine that, but it does not have the power to have a combination of the two voting systems. Surely the hon. Gentleman does not want people to be prevented from voting through no fault of their own.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon, Conservative)
Even if a workplace ballot is used, why should voters not have the right to demand a postal ballot if they so wish? The legislation provides that, if they are sick or so on, they can use a postal
ballot, but why should they not have the right to demand one in any event? The law has been changed on parliamentary or local government ballots: if someone wants a postal ballot, they can have one. Why should workers not have the same right?
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
They have the right if the CAC determines that to be the appropriate way to proceed through representations from the employer, trade union or individual. The CAC has that power. The difficulty with the old legislation was that it did not have the power to ensure that everyone was included, because the method of voting had to be one or the other. We are saying that a combination of the two is a fairer approach.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 7 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clause 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill.