I.-For the purposes of measuring the audience of a professional employers’ organisation as provided for in 3° of Article L. 2152-1, the companies covered by the professional branch in question and which are members of this professional organisation at this level or of a statutory territorial structure of this organisation are taken into account.
II – Companies falling within the scope of this professional branch and belonging to one or more professional employers’ organisations or to one of their statutory territorial structures are also considered as members of a professional employers’ organisation applying for representativeness in a professional branch if this organisation:
1° Has made public its membership of the candidate organisation by any means before 31 December of the year preceding the year of the declaration of candidacy provided for in article L. 2152-5 ;
2° Certifies that it is not a candidate for representativeness in the branch concerned;
3° pays a membership fee in accordance with the rules laid down by the competent body of the organisation to which it belongs, and in accordance with procedures ensuring that member companies are informed as to which organisation receives the fee. This condition is also deemed to be met when the organisation concerned produces combined accounts with the organisation to which it belongs.
With the exception of the branches exclusively covering the agricultural activities mentioned in 1° to 4° of Article L. 722-1 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code and those of agricultural equipment use cooperatives, membership of professional employers’ organisations or their statutory territorial structures to the statutory territorial structures of the organisation applying to establish its representativeness is not taken into account under 3°.
III – Organisations which, in accordance with the procedures laid down by a decision of the competent body of the applicant organisation, pay a reduced membership fee to take account of membership during the year or for any other reason provided for in the aforementioned decision, will also be counted as members, provided that this reduction does not exceed by half the membership fee due in application of the rules mentioned in the previous paragraph.
IV- Company memberships in the statutory territorial structures defined in I and in the professional employers’ organisations or in one of their statutory territorial structures defined in II are taken into account once certificates as defined in article R. 2152-6 have been drawn up for each of these professional employers’ organisations and for each or all of these statutory territorial structures, accompanied by the summary sheet mentioned in article R. 2152-6:
1° Either by the auditor of the applicant organisation ;
2° Or as part of an assignment to verify these elements by an auditor appointed by the structures or organisations mentioned in the first paragraph of this IV.
The rules taken into account with regard to contributions and defined in accordance with the provisions of articles R. 2152-1 and R. 2152-2 are attached to these certificates.
V.-When a statutory territorial structure or a professional employers’ organisation does not have companies that are its direct members, compliance with the provisions of I and 1° to 3° of II of this article is certified by an auditor.