Procedure for seeking and conduct of tripartite mediation
30H.—(1)  An employee who has a dispute with his employer may seek tripartite mediation by informing his trade union or any federation of which his trade union may be part of, of such dispute.
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(2)  The trade union or federation may notify the Commissioner of such dispute, in such form and manner as the Commissioner may determine.
(3)  Upon receiving a notification of a dispute under subsection (2), the Commissioner may —
(a)direct a conciliation officer or an approved mediator to conduct tripartite mediation of the dispute;
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(b)assign or re-assign tripartite mediation advisors, at any stage prior to the commencement of the tripartite mediation proceedings, to assist the employee or his employer (who are parties to the relevant dispute) in the tripartite mediation;
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(c)direct the employee and the employer to participate in the tripartite mediation; and
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(d)of his own volition or upon request by either the employee or the employer, request any other party whom he deems appropriate, including but not limited to —
(i)an officer from the trade union of which the employee is a member; and
(ii)a representative of any business organisation of which the employer is a member,
to participate in the tripartite mediation by assisting the tripartite mediation advisors assigned under paragraph (b).
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(4)  The conciliation officer or approved mediator may conduct the tripartite mediation session in such manner as he deems fit and shall, subject to subsection (5), have the discretion to decide on the persons who may attend any mediation session.
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(5)  No party shall be represented by an advocate or solicitor or a paid agent at any mediation session.
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(6)  Where a tripartite mediation is conducted by an approved mediator, the approved mediator must issue to the employee a claim referral certificate in respect of every unresolved specified employment dispute that is a subject of the tripartite mediation, if —
(a)the employer is given reasonable notice of, or is directed under section 30H(3)(c) to participate in, the tripartite mediation, but does not attend any mediation session; or
(b)no settlement is reached at the end of the tripartite mediation in relation to one or more of the specified employment disputes that are the subject of the tripartite mediation.
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(7)  Despite subsection (6), if the employee is given reasonable notice of, or is directed under section 30H(3)(c) to participate in, the tripartite mediation, and the employee fails, without reasonable excuse, to attend any mediation session, the approved mediator may refuse to issue to the employee a claim referral certificate in respect of all or any of the unresolved specified employment disputes that are the subject of the tripartite mediation.
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(8)  Despite subsection (6)(a), if the employer is directed by the Minister under section 30J(2) to attend a mediation session, the approved mediator must not issue a claim referral certificate unless the employer fails to comply with the Minister’s direction.
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(9)  In this section, a specified employment dispute that is a subject of a tripartite mediation is unresolved if the dispute —
(a)is not settled; and
(b)is not withdrawn from being a subject of the tripartite mediation.
[Act 21 of 2016 wef 01/04/2017]