Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997

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PART IV

Miscellaneous

Approval of collective agreements by Labour Court.

24.—(1) In this section “collective agreement” means a collective agreement referred to in section 4 , 15 or 16 or paragraph 4 (a) of the First Schedule .

(2) On an application being made in that behalf by any of the parties thereto, the Labour Court may, subject to the provisions of this section, approve of a collective agreement.

(3) On receipt of an application under this section, the Labour Court shall consult such representatives of employees and employers as it considers to have an interest in the matters to which the collective agreement, the subject of the application, relates.

(4) The Labour Court shall not approve of a collective agreement unless the following conditions are fulfilled as respects that agreement, namely—

(a) in the case of a collective agreement referred to in section 4 , 15 or 16 , the Labour Court is satisfied that it is appropriate to approve of the agreement having regard to the provisions of the Council Directive permitting the entry into collective agreements for the purposes concerned,

(b) the agreement has been concluded in a manner usually employed in determining the pay or other conditions of employment of employees in the employment concerned,

(c) the body which negotiated the agreement on behalf of the employees concerned is the holder of a negotiation licence under the Trade Union Act, 1941 , or is an excepted body within the meaning of that Act which is sufficiently representative of the employees concerned,

(d) the agreement is in such form as appears to the Labour Court to be suitable for the purposes of the agreement being approved of under this section.

(5) Where the Labour Court is not satisfied that the condition referred to in paragraph (a) or (d) of subsection (4) is fulfilled in relation to a collective agreement, the subject of an application under subsection (2) (but is satisfied that the other conditions referred to in that subsection are fulfilled in relation to the agreement), it may request the parties to the agreement to vary the agreement in such manner as will result in the said condition being fulfilled and if those parties agree so to vary the agreement and vary it, accordingly, the Labour Court shall approve of the agreement as so varied.

(6) Where a collective agreement which has been approved of under this section is subsequently varied by the parties thereto, any of the said parties may apply to the Labour Court to have the agreement, as so varied, approved of by the Labour Court under this section and the provisions of this section shall apply to such an application as they apply to an application under subsection (2).

(7) The Labour Court may withdraw its approval of a collective agreement under this section where it is satisfied that there are substantial grounds for so doing.

(8) The Labour Court shall determine the procedures to be followed by a person in making an application under subsection (2) or (6), by the Labour Court in considering any such application or otherwise performing any of its functions under this section and by persons generally in relation to matters falling to be dealt with under this section.

(9) The Labour Court shall publish, in such manner as it thinks fit, particulars of the procedures referred to in subsection (8).

(10) The Labour Court shall establish and maintain a register of collective agreements standing approved of by it under this section and such a register shall be made available for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times.