Employment Relations Act 2000

32 Good faith in bargaining for collective agreement

• (1) The duty of good faith in section 4 requires a union and an employer bargaining for a collective agreement to do, at least, the following things:

  • (a) the union and the employer must use their best endeavours to enter into an arrangement, as soon as possible after the initiation of bargaining, that sets out a process for conducting the bargaining in an effective and efficient manner; and

  • (b) the union and the employer must meet each other, from time to time, for the purposes of the bargaining; and

  • (c) the union and employer must consider and respond to proposals made by each other; and

  • (ca) even though the union and the employer have come to a standstill or reached a deadlock about a matter, they must continue to bargain (including doing the things specified in paragraphs (b) and (c)) about any other matters on which they have not reached agreement; and

  • (d) the union and the employer—

    • (i) must recognise the role and authority of any person chosen by each to be its representative or advocate; and

    • (ii) must not (whether directly or indirectly) bargain about matters relating to terms and conditions of employment with persons whom the representative or advocate are acting for, unless the union and employer agree otherwise; and

    • (iii) must not undermine or do anything that is likely to undermine the bargaining or the authority of the other in the bargaining; and

  • (e) the union and employer must provide to each other, on request and in accordance with section 34, information that is reasonably necessary to support or substantiate claims or responses to claims made for the purposes of the bargaining.

  (2) Subsection (1)(b) does not require a union and an employer to continue to meet each other about proposals that have been considered and responded to.

  (3) The matters that are relevant to whether a union and an employer bargaining for a collective agreement are dealing with each other in good faith include—

  • (a) the provisions of a code of good faith that are relevant to the circumstances of the union and the employer; and

  • (b) the provisions of any agreement about good faith entered into by the union and the employer; and

  • (c) the proportion of the employer's employees who are members of the union and to whom the bargaining relates; and

  • (d) any other matter considered relevant, including background circumstances and the circumstances of the union and the employer.

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (3)(d), circumstances, in relation to a union and an employer, include—

  • (a) the operational environment of the union and the employer; and

  • (b) the resources available to the union and the employer.

  (5) This section does not limit the application of the duty of good faith in section 4 in relation to bargaining for a collective agreement.

  (6) To avoid doubt, this section does not prevent an employer from communicating with the employer's employees during collective bargaining (including, without limitation, the employer's proposals for the collective agreement) as long as the communication is consistent with subsection (1)(d) of this section and the duty of good faith in section 4.

  Section 32(1)(ca): inserted, on 1 December 2004, by section 11 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).

  Section 32(6): added, on 1 April 2011, by section 9 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 125).