Section 69Q — Employment Relations Act 2000: Bargaining fee clause does not come into force unless agreed to first by employer and union and then by secret ballot

69Q Bargaining fee clause does not come into force unless agreed to first by employer and union and then by secret ballot (1) A bargaining fee clause does not come into force unless the clause has— (a) first been agreed to by the employer and the union in a collective agreement; and (b) then been agreed to in a secret ballot held in accordance with this section. (2) The secret ballot must be— (a) held before the collective agreement comes into force; and (b) conducted jointly by the employer and union. (3) An employee is entitled to vote in a secret ballot if— (a) the work performed by the employee comes within the coverage clause in the collective agreement; and (b) the employee is— (i) not a member of any union; or (ii) a member only of the union that is a party to the collective agreement with the employer. (4) For the purposes of a secret ballot, a ballot paper must contain, or have attached to it, a copy of the bargaining fee clause. (5) A bargaining fee clause is agreed to in a secret ballot if a majority of the employer's employees who vote, vote in favour of the clause. Part 6B (comprising sections 69P to 69W) was inserted, as from 1 December 2004, by section 30 Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86). See section 73 of that Act for the transitional provisions.