Definitive Report - Report No 291, November 1993

1. 82. In its communication of 29 March 1993, the General Workers' Union (GWU) presented a complaint against the Government of Malta alleging violations of freedom of association. The Government sent its observations concerning this case in a communication dated 6 May 1993.
2. 83. Malta has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 84. In its complaint the GWU states that one of its sections, the Supervisory, Technical and Professional Staff Association, took industrial action against the Bank of Valletta Ltd., the main shareholder of which is the Government. The action took place after a "promotion exercise" in which some of the Union's members felt they had been treated unfairly.
2. 85. According to the GWU, the Assistant General Manager for Human Resources sent a circular to all branch managers with the instruction that safe keys were to be kept in the custody of staff who did not intend to follow union directives. In the view of the GWU, this circular violates Convention No. 87.

B. The Government's reply

1. 86. In its reply, the Government points out that the Bank of Valletta is a private company. Although the Government is the majority shareholder, the management of the Bank is a matter for the Board of Directors and staff alone.
2. 87. The Government issued no directives to the Bank in connection with any trade dispute it may have had with any trade union. The circular which is the subject of the complaint was issued by the Assistant General Manager for Human Resources to branch managers. In the Government's view, such a response was a legitimate precaution which any employer would have taken under the circumstances, and understandable in view of the Bank's responsibilities to its clients and the need to protect its assets. The instructions given in the circular were withdrawn once the situation had returned to normal. The Bank's branch managers were told to return the keys to the employees who had had custody of them before the industrial action was called for.
3. 88. Finally, the Government emphasizes that, had the GWU felt that its rights had been infringed, it could have registered the matter as an industrial dispute and resorted to the settlement procedures provided for by the Industrial Relations Act, which it failed to do.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 89. The Committee notes that the sole allegation in this case concerns the decision by the senior management of the Bank of Valletta not to entrust the safe keys to staff who intended to follow the Union's call for industrial action.
2. 90. The Committee notes that nothing in the allegations suggests that the right of employees to engage in industrial action was violated as such. Furthermore, it would appear from the Government's reply that the measure taken by the Bank was withdrawn once the situation had returned to normal. In the light of these facts, the Committee considers that the present case does not call for further examination.