Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1980)

Other comments on C151

Observation

2015
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With reference to its observation under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Committee notes the observations of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) received on 1 September and 25 November 2015 in relation to legislative proposals presented by the Government to Parliament on 15 July 2015 and requests the Government to provide its comments thereon.

Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention. Facilities enabling recognized representatives of public employees’ organizations to carry out their functions promptly and efficiently and the encouragement of machinery for negotiation of terms and conditions of employment or other methods of participation for public employees’ representatives. The Committee notes that the TUC raises concerns in relation to modifications to the provision of facility time and check-off facilities for the public service in sections 12 and 14 of the Trade Union Bill. The TUC further states that check-off arrangements are to be found in collective agreements and therefore the Government is proposing to invalidate existing collective agreements and to prevent future negotiation by providing clearly in section 14 for the prohibition of the deduction of union subscriptions.

In this regard, the Committee recalls that, in its 2013 General Survey, Collective Bargaining in the Public Service: A way forward, paragraphs 145 and 146, the Committee underlined in its chapter on trade union rights and facilities in the public administration the importance of providing appropriate means for the collection of trade union dues and time off without loss of wages. The Committee recalled that the bigger the undertaking or public institution, the greater the need to ensure that appropriate facilities are afforded. Moreover, the Committee considered that the granting of facilities such as paid time off to representatives of public employees’ organizations can contribute to compliance with the regulations applicable to public institutions and to dialogue with the employer, and thus to the creation of an appropriate environment and the proper functioning of the administration or department concerned.

As regards the withdrawal of such facilities, in its 2013 General Survey, paragraphs 155 and 156, the Committee has indicated the following: in general, the Committee encourages the use of methods of application of Convention No. 151 that are based on tripartism, social dialogue and full and frank consultations between the social partners. This is particularly important with regard to legislation on industrial relations, including provisions concerning facilities to be afforded to workers’ representatives, in order to ensure that the parties subscribe to the underlying principles and, thus, that the measures adopted are sustainable and are not contingent, in the civil service, on successive changes of government or administration. The unilateral withdrawal of facilities from public employees’ organizations can seriously impair the normal functioning of such organizations. The larger the organization, in terms of the number of workers it represents and their sectoral and geographical coverage, the more the withdrawal of facilities can have harmful consequences. In this respect, the Committee on Freedom of Association has considered that the withdrawal of the check-off facility, which could lead to financial difficulties for trade union organizations, is not conducive to the development of harmonious industrial relations and should thus be avoided.

In light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that the public authorities concerned and the public employees’ organizations are given the opportunity to jointly review sections 12 and 14 of the Trade Union Bill with a view to ensuring that the facilities granted to public employees’ organizations are fully in line with Article 6 of the Convention and that already concluded collective agreements are not violated.