S.L. 452.112 Art. 9Ballot.

(1) Where a ballot is contemplated by these regulations, the logistical arrangements for the holding of such ballot shall be made by the Director and it shall be the duty of every person to cooperate fully with, and supply all necessary assistance to, the Director to enable a ballot to take place.

(2) The decision of the Director on any matter referred to in sub-regulation (1) or to the holding of a ballot shall be complied with as specified by the Director.

(3) In the ballot process, only the members of the contesting unions employed with the employer concerned shall participate in the ballot.

(4) A ballot shall be held to determine which contesting union has the majority of valid votes cast.

(5) The date or dates on which and the place where the ballot shall take place shall be set by the director, in consultation with both the employer and the contesting unions.

(6) The ballot paper, which shall be in both the Maltese and the English language, shall be in the format set in the Schedule to these regulations.

(7) Only one box in the ballot paper shall be marked. If other words or marks are written on the ballot paper, that vote shall be considered to be invalid.

(8) The employer may choose to exclude top management from being considered as part of the workforce for collective representation purposes and hence from voting in such ballots. Article 67 of the Act shall apply to this sub mutatis mutandis regulation: Provided that if an employer chooses to exclude such officers, he shall inform the Director accordingly within one week from the request for recognition.

(9) The employer shall take all necessary arrangements to facilitate the voting procedure based on a free and secret vote.

(10) During the ballot process, including the counting stage, the only persons who shall be present shall be the Director, and one representative of each union taking part in the ballot. The counting of the votes shall take place immediately after the conclusion of the ballot process and any decision on the validity or otherwise of a vote or votes shall rest on the Director, and that decision shall be final.

(11) The result of the ballot shall be communicated by the Director to the unions and to the employer participating in the process. The employer shall immediately publish the result of the ballot result at a prominent place at the workplace.

(12) The result of the ballot shall be valid until it is challenged by another union in terms of these regulations.

(13) During the verification process, commencing from the request until the final result, the unions involved in the said process shall not initiate industrial action at the place of work concerned in furtherance of a dispute relating to recognition.