Clause 7 - Postal votes for workers absent from ballot at workplace
Employment Relations Bill
3:00 pm
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?