S.L. 452.98 Art. 6Conduct of ballot.

(1) The method of selection of the Maltese members of the special negotiating body shall be by means of a ballot from amongst eligible persons who satisfy the criteria laid down in subregulation (2)(d).

(2) The management or administrative organs of the participating legal entities to which these regulations apply shall be responsible for arrangements relating to the holding of the ballot of members to serve on the special negotiating body according to the following criteria:

(a) in relation to the election of ordinary members under regulation 5(1)(a) -

(i) if the number of members which Maltese employees are entitled to elect to the special negotiating body is equal to the number of participating legal entities which have employees in Malta, there shall be separate ballots for the Maltese employees in each participating legal entity;

(ii) if the number of members which the Maltese employees are entitled to elect to the special negotiating body is greater than the number of participating legal entities which have employees in Malta, there shall be separate ballots for the Maltese employees in each participating legal entity and the management or administrative organs shall ensure, as far as practicable, that at least one member representing each such participating legal entity is elected to the special negotiating body and that the number of members representing each legal entity is proportionate to the number of employees in that legal entity;

(iii) if the number of members which the Maltese employees are entitled to elect to the special negotiating body is smaller than the number of participating legal entities which have employees in Malta, a single ballot shall be held in which all the employees of the participating legal entities shall be entitled to vote;

(b) in relation to the ballot of additional members under regulation 5(1)(b), the management or administrative organs shall hold a separate ballot in respect of each participating legal entity entitled to elect an additional member;

(c) in a ballot in respect of a participating legal entity, a Maltese employee employed in that participating legal entity or in its concerned subsidiaries and establishments on the date or dates of the election shall be entitled to vote;

(d) in a ballot in respect of a participating legal entity, any person who on the date of nomination of candidates was -

(i) a Maltese employee employed in that participating legal entity or in its concerned subsidiaries and establishments who satisfied the criteria laid down in regulation 4(5) and who is in employment but not in his probationary period on the date of nomination; or

(ii) a representative of a trade union, even if he is not an employee of that participating legal entity or its concerned subsidiaries or establishments, is entitled to stand as a candidate for election as a member of the special negotiating body in that ballot so long as the management or administrative organs of that participating legal entity so permit;

(e) the management or administrative organs shall:

(i) appoint an independent ballot supervisor to supervise the conduct of the ballot of Maltese employees; in the case where there is to be more than one ballot, the management or administrative organs may appoint more than one independent ballot supervisor each of whom shall supervise such of the separate ballots as the management or administrative organs may determine, provided that each separate ballot is supervised by a supervisor;

(ii) ensure that there is no interference with the carrying out of his functions from the management or administrative organs;

(iii) comply with all reasonable requests made by a ballot supervisor for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out of those functions;

(f) after the management or administrative organs have formulated proposals as to the arrangements for the ballot of Maltese employees and before they have published the final arrangements under paragraph (g) they shall, as far as reasonably practicable, consult with the employees’ representatives on the proposed arrangements for the ballot of Maltese employees; and

(g) the management or administrative organs must publish the final arrangements for the ballot of Maltese employees in such manner as to bring them to the attention of, so far as reasonably practicable, the Maltese employees and of the employees’ representatives.

(3) The ballot supervisor shall establish the date:

(a) for nomination of candidates, which shall be on a date within the second and third week from the date when the final arrangements for the ballot of Maltese employees referred to in subregulation (2)(g) were finalized, and

(b) of the ballot itself which shall be held within two months from the date of nomination of candidates referred to in paragraph (a).

(4) It shall be the duty of the ballot supervisor -

(a) to formally publish, as the case may be, the names of the persons standing for election, and the results of the ballot held to appoint the special negotiating body, in such a manner as to make them available to the management or administrative organs of the participating legal entity, to the Maltese employees entitled to vote in the ballot and the persons who stood as candidates, as soon as practicable, and in any case within one week after the date of nomination of candidates or the election or appointment of the members of the special negotiating body;

(b) if the circumstances so warrant, to publish a report concurrently with the results of the election of the special negotiating body referred to in paragraph (a) stating -

(i) that any of the requirements for holding a fair election were not met with the result that the outcome of the ballot could have been different; or

(ii) that there was an interference with the carrying out of his functions or a failure by management or administrative organs to comply with all reasonable requests made by him with the result that he was unable to form a proper judgement as to whether the requirements for holding a fair election were met.

(5) The special negotiating body shall be considered to have been established on the date of publication of the results of the ballot in accordance with subregulation (4)(a) provided that if the ballot supervisor also issues a report in accordance with subregulation (4)(b), the process of election or appointment of the special negotiating body shall be considered null and without effect and would have to be carried out anew.

(6) The competent organs of the participating legal entities shall, as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event by no later than one month after the establishment of the special negotiating body, inform their employees and those of their concerned subsidiaries and establishments of the identity of the members of the special negotiating body.

(7) Any Maltese employee or Maltese employees’ representative may within a period of one week beginning on the date on which the management or administrative organs published the final arrangements in terms of subregulation (2)(g), make a written complaint in relation to any aspect relating to the election of the representatives to the special negotiating body including the eligibility to stand for election, eligibility to vote or the organization of such a ballot, to the Director responsible for industrial and employment relations, who shall investigate whether such a complaint is well-founded and who may direct that appropriate measures be taken by any person involved to eliminate any grounds for well-founded complaints, and any decision taken by the Director on any matter relating to the organization of the ballot shall be final.

(8) Notwithstanding any requirement in these regulations to hold a ballot, where the number of candidates at the end of the period allocated for nominations equals the number of members to be elected to the special negotiating body, these shall be considered to have been automatically appointed to the special negotiating body, and this will obviate any requirement to hold a ballot and the ballot supervisor shall publish this result in accordance with subregulation (4).

(9) Any costs relating to the whole process of nominations and election in one or more legal entities, including payments made to a ballot supervisor for supervising the conduct of the ballot, (whether or not a report in accordance with subregulation (4)(b) has been made), shall be borne by the participating legal entities operating in Malta.