S.L. 452.107 Art. 6Election, appointment, functions and procedures of the Special Negotiating Body.

(1) The Special Negotiating Body shall have the task of determining, with the central management, by written agreement, the scope, composition, functions, and term of office of the

European Works Council or the arrangements for implementing a procedure for the information and consultation of employees.

(2) The members of the Special Negotiating Body shall be elected or appointed in proportion to the number of employees employed in each Member State by the Community-scale undertaking or Community-scale group of undertaking, by allocating in respect of each Member State one seat per portion of employees employed in that Member State amounting to 10% or a fraction thereof, of the number of employees employed in all the Member States taken together.

(3) The method of selection of the members representing employees employed by the undertaking, or as the case may be the group of undertakings, situated in Malta to sit on the Special Negotiating Body shall be by means of an election from amongst eligible candidates who satisfy the criteria laid down in regulation 2(4) and who are in employment but not in their probationary period on the date of nomination, and the central management shall appoint a responsible person to act as ballot supervisor to oversee the whole process of nominations and election, and any expenses related to the process of appointing or electing the Special Negotiating Body shall be borne by the central management.

(4) The date for nomination of candidates, which shall be established by the ballot supervisor, shall be within two months from the date when the request to commence negotiations on an agreement to establish a European Works Council was made or when the decision was taken by central management to commence negotiations on its own initiatives, whichever was the earlier.

(5) Where the number of candidates on the day of nomination equals the number of representatives to be elected to the Special Negotiating Body, these shall be considered to have been automatically appointed to the Special Negotiating Body.

(6) Where the number of candidates on the day of nomination exceeds the number of representatives to be elected to the Special Negotiating Body, arrangements shall be made by management to hold a secret ballot to elect the required number of representatives.

(7) Arrangements for the holding of such a ballot shall be finalised by the central management within one month from the date of nomination of candidates referred to in sub-regulation (4), and the central management shall ensure that the process of nominations and the ballot itself shall be overseen by the ballot supervisor. The ballot itself, if necessary, shall be held within two months from the date of nomination of candidates referred to in sub-regulation (4).

(8) Any employee who is in employment on the day or days of the election and satisfies the criteria referred to in regulation 2(4) shall be entitled to vote in such an election.

(9) Any person may 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 organisation 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 organisation of the ballot shall be final.

(10) It shall be the duty of the ballot supervisor to give the formal results of the process of nomination or ballot held to appoint the Special Negotiating Body to the central management, the local management, and the competent European workers’ and employers’ organizations as soon as practicable, and in any case within one month after the date of the election or appointment of its members. Moreover, the central management, the local management and the competent European workers’ and employers’ organizations shall be informed of the start of negotiations between the special negotiating body and the management.

(11) With a view to the conclusion of an agreement in accordance with regulation 7, the central management shall convene a meeting with the Special Negotiating Body and shall inform local managements accordingly.

(12) Before and after any meeting with the central management, the Special Negotiating Body shall be entitled to meet without representatives of the central management being present, using any necessary means for communication.

(13) For the purpose of the negotiations, the Special Negotiating Body may request assistance from experts of its choice which can include representatives of competent recognized Community-level trade union organizations. Such experts and such trade union representatives may be present at negotiation meetings in an advisory capacity at the request of the special negotiating body.

(14) Subject to sub-regulation (15), the Special Negotiating Body shall take decisions by a majority of the votes cast by its members and each member of the Special Negotiating Body shall have one vote.

(15) The Special Negotiating Body may decide, by at least two-thirds of the votes, not to open negotiations in accordance with sub-regulation (11), or to terminate the negotiations already opened, in which case the provisions of the Schedule shall not apply.

(16) A new request to convene the Special Negotiating Body may be made at the earliest two years after the decision mentioned in sub-regulation (15) has been taken, unless the parties concerned agree on a shorter period.

(17) Any expenses relating to the negotiations referred to in this regulation shall be borne by the central management so as to enable the special negotiating body to carry out its task in an appropriate manner.

(18) For the purposes of the preceding sub-regulation, reasonable expenses shall include the cost of meetings of the Special Negotiating Body, whether with the central management or otherwise, including the cost of materials, the venue, translations, travel and accommodation, and the equivalent cost of one expert per meeting.