The legislation includes as basic obligations, unions and employers meeting together from time to time and considering and responding to proposals made by the other side. Good faith does not mean that the parties have to agree or to settle a collective agreement. A Committee on Good Faith Bargaining will be established to provide the parties with some guidelines about what it means to bargain in good faith. If a contract says that an individual is a contractor, but the person thinks that they are really an employee, they will be able to challenge this in the Courts, as they can now. The legislation will specifically exclude real estate agents and sharemilkers, who are covered by their own legislation.
Union membership is solely a matter of individual choice.
Only registered unions will be able to take advantage of the benefits of the Act. This is to ensure that the benefits of collective bargaining are offered only to those organisations that are independent, democratic and properly accountable to their members. Unions must meet the conditions laid out in the Incorporated Societies Act before they can register. This means that they must be democratic, have a set of rules, and at least 15 members. In addition, in order to register as a union, a society must be independent of any employer.