Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 129: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if there is a legal mechanism to allow an employer to ballot all staff within a company on a matter relating to the employment of staff, and not just those within a recognised union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16638/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act 2006 enables employers and employees to agree a variety of arrangements whereby employees within a company may cast their preference for certain types of information and consultation arrangements.

The main purpose of the Act is to provide for the establishment of a general framework setting out minimum requirements for the right to information and consultation of employees in undertakings with at least 50 employees. It provides a general right to information and consultation for employees from their employer on matters that directly affect them.

The Act does not lay down a detailed procedure for an employer to conduct a ballot of all staff within a company but refers at Sections 8, 9 and 11 to a procedure "for the casting of a preference" by those employees. The statutory provision is sufficiently flexible to allow employers to choose from a variety of methods in facilitating their employees in approving different types of information and consultation arrangements. The Act requires employers to ensure, however, that any approval method adopted is secure, confidential and can be independently verified in the event of a dispute.

The Act also prescribes procedures for the election of employee representatives where this accords with the preference of employees. In the event of arrangements being approved for the democratic election or appointment of employees' representatives, the employer is obliged to facilitate such arrangements and to cover the cost of the nomination and selection procedure. Where it is the practice of an employer to conduct collective bargaining negotiations with a trade union or excepted body, which represents 10% or more of the employees, the employees who are members of that Trade Union or excepted body are entitled to elect or appoint their own employees' representative(s) on a pro rata basis.

The Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act, 2006, affords employers and employees a wide degree of autonomy in devising their own information and consultation arrangements. In order to encourage agreement on such arrangements, the conditions and limitations attached to them under the Act are few. This affords the parties the opportunity to develop information and consultation arrangements that are tailor-made to their particular needs.