Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 331, June 2003

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 107. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2002 meeting in which it again urged the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 120 of the Labour Relations Act in order to bring it into line with freedom of association principles. It asked to be kept informed of developments in this regard [see 329th Report, paras. 156-159].
2. 108. In a communication dated 10 February 2003, the Government stated that the Labour Amendment Bill, including amendments, was passed by Parliament on 18 December 2002 and will come into force with the President’s assent. A copy of the Bill has been transmitted to the Office.
3. 109. The Committee notes with regret that section 120 of the Labour Relations Act was not amended. It recalls once again that section 120 gives rise to two different sets of problems from the standpoint of freedom of association. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of section 120 authorize an investigator appointed by the Minister to enter trade union premises and question any person employed there at all reasonable times and without prior notice. The Committee has emphasized in this respect that the right of the inviolability of trade union premises necessarily implies that the public authorities may not insist on entering such premises without prior authorization or without having obtained a legal warrant to do so and any search of trade union premises, or of unionists’ homes, without a court order constitutes an extremely serious infringement of freedom of association [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, paras. 175 and 177]. Moreover, searches of trade union premises should be made only following the issue of a warrant by the ordinary judicial authority where that authority is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for supposing that evidence exists on the premises material to a prosecution for a penal offence and on condition that the search be restricted to the purpose in respect of which the warrant was issued [see Digest, op. cit., para. 180].
4. 110. Secondly, as regards paragraph (c) of subsection (2), which empowers an investigator, at all reasonable times, and without prior notice, to inspect and make copies and take extracts from any books, records or other documents on trade union premises, the Committee has previously stated that the control exercised by the public authorities over trade union finances should not normally exceed the obligation to submit periodic reports. The discretionary right of the authorities to carry out inspections and request information at any time entails a danger of interference in the internal administration of trade unions. Moreover, as regards certain measures of investigations, the Committee has considered that these should be applied only in exceptional cases, when justified by grave circumstances (for instance, presumed irregularities in the annual statement or irregularities reported by members of the organization), in order to avoid any discrimination between one trade union and another and to preclude the danger of excessive intervention by the authorities which hamper a union’s exercise of the right to organize its administration freely, and also to avoid harmful and perhaps unjustified publicity or the disclosure of information which might be confidential [see Digest, op. cit., paras. 443 and 444]. The Committee notes that the powers of supervision contained in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) are not limited to exceptional cases; rather this provision gives excessive powers of inquiry to the administrative authorities into financial management of trade unions, thereby violating the right of workers’ and employers’ organizations to organize their administration without interference by the public authorities.
5. 111. In light of the above, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 120 of the Labour Relations Act so as to bring it into conformity with freedom of the abovementioned and asks to be kept informed of any developments in this regard.