Section 60: Extension of collective agreement to the whole of the industry

60. Extension of collective agreement to the whole of the industry (1) Subject to subsection (2), where a collective agreement which governs the terms and conditions of employment in a part of an industry is in force, an employer or a trade union of workers to whom the agreement E9A – 35 [Issue 5] Employment Relations Act applies may make an application to the Tribunal for an order to extend the agreement to the whole of the industry and, on hearing the application, the Tribunal may grant or refuse the order. (2) No order shall be made under subsection (1) unless the Tribunal is satisfied that— (a) the parties to the agreement are or represent a substantial proportion of the workers or of the employers in the industry, the workers being workers of the description to which the agreement applies; (b) the employers engaged in the industry are not bound by the agreement; (c) the extension of the agreement is necessary or desirable in the interest of uniformity of terms and conditions of employment in the industry. (3) An order under subsection (1) may be subject to such conditions as the Tribunal thinks fit and, in particular, the order may provide that where an employer is observing terms and conditions of employment which are more favourable than the terms and conditions of employment specified in the agreement, the employer shall continue to be bound by the more favourable terms and conditions of employment. (4) Where an employer, not a party to the original collective agreement and to whom the extension of the collective agreement would apply, has reasonable grounds to believe that coverage by the collective agreement would be prejudicial to the viability of, or employment, in his enterprise, he may apply to the Tribunal for an order to have his enterprise exempted from all or part of its provisions and, on hearing the application, the Tribunal may grant or refuse the order. (5) Any application made under subsections (1) and (4) shall be determined within 60 days of the date of receipt of the application.