Mining Industry Act 1926

21Establishment of joint committees for coal mines

(1)If at any time after the expiration of two years from the commencement of this Act the Board of Trade are satisfied upon representation made to them as respects any coal mine (not being a small mine within the meaning of the [1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 50.] Coal Mines Act, 1911) that no adequate opportunity has been afforded by the owner, agent and manager of the mine for the establishment of machinery for mutual discussion between representatives of the management of the mine and representatives of workers employed in or about the mine, of matters of common interest in regard to the working of the mine, the Board may by order direct that regulations made under this section shall apply to that mine.

(2)The Board of Trade may make regulations providing for the constitution of a joint committee for any mine to which the regulations apply, consisting of representatives of the owners and management of the mine and of the workers employed in or about the mine, and having such functions as may be prescribed by the regulations:

Provided that—

(a)such regulations shall not apply to any mine unless and until they have been applied thereto by an order made under the foregoing provisions of this section ;

(b)no powers in relation to the control or management of a mine shall be included among the functions of any such joint committee ; and

(c)the regulations shall provide for the selection of the representatives of workers employed in or about a mine by ballot of those workers from amongst their own number.

(3)Regulations made under this section shall provide for the procedure and meetings of joint committees and for enabling joint committees to obtain such information and to cause such inspections to be made as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling them to exercise any of their functions under the regulations; and any persons appointed in accordance with the regulations to make such inspections shall have all such facilities for the purpose of making the inspections as persons appointed to make inspections under section sixteen of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, and that section shall apply accordingly.

(4)Subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of section eighty-six, and section one hundred and seventeen of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, and Part I. of the Second Schedule to that Act (which relate to orders making general regulations under that Act), shall apply with the necessary modifications to regulations under this section, and for the purposes of the said Part I. of the Second Schedule to that Act as so applied, the expression a " general objection" means an objection made by or on behalf of any association or body which satisfies the Board of Trade that it represents a substantial proportion of owners of mines or of persons employed in or about mines in Great Britain.

(5)An order under this section may be made so as to be in force either permanently or for a limited period, and may be amended or revoked by any subsequent order.

(6)In this section, except where the context otherwise requires, the expression "management" has the same meaning as in the Mining Industry Act, 1920.