Explanatory note

This Supplementary Order Paper amends the Employment Relations (Secret Ballot for Strikes) Amendment Bill (the Bill) to insert new clause 6A. New clause 6A proposes to insert new section 14(1)(ca) into the Employment Relations Act 2000 (the principal Act) to ensure that the rules of a society seeking to be registered as a union contain a provision relating to the process for holding a secret ballot for the purposes of the principal Act. Secret ballots are required by section 45(2) of the principal Act and new section 82A(2) (as proposed to be inserted into principal the Act by clause 7 of the Bill).

The Supplementary Order Paper also—

• amends the commencement provision of the Bill (clause 2) in order to bring the requirement for a society to have rules that contain a provision relating to secret ballots into force on the day after the date on which the Bill receives the Royal assent; and

• adds a transitional provision to the Bill (new clause 9), which provides that a society whose rules do not contain a provision relating to process for holding a secret ballot must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, but no later than 2 years, after the commencement of clause 6A of the Bill, amend its rules so that they comply with new section 14(1)(ca) of the principal Act.