Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Malta (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and that the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, 2002 replaces the earlier Industrial Relations Act, 1976. In this regard, the Committee wishes to make the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee observes that the definition of "worker" in section 2 of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act excludes any worker working for another party to a contract "who is not a professional client of his", as well as any "member of a disciplined force" and notes that it is unclear as to which workers are thereby excluded from the definition and, accordingly, denied the right to organize. Given that the Convention guarantees all Maltese workers the right to establish and join trade unions, with the possible exception of the police and the armed forces, the Committee requests the Government to clarify which workers are excluded from the Act by virtue of the definition of "worker" and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that all workers covered by the Convention may organize for the promotion and defence of their interests.

Further, the Committee notes that section 67 of the Act prohibits holders of certain public service offices and corporate managerial and executive posts who may be required to represent or advise the employer in its relations with the unions representing its other employees, from joining the union in question. The Committee recalls that provisions which prohibit workers in this category from joining trade unions in which other workers are represented are not necessarily incompatible with the Convention, provided they have the right to establish their own organizations and that the right to belong to those organizations is restricted to persons performing senior managerial or decision-making functions (see General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, 1994, paragraph 66). It requests the Government to confirm that managerial and executive staff may form their own organizations to promote and defend their interests and that section 67 in no way restricts their right to join the federation or confederation of their own choosing.

Article 4. The Committee notes that section 55(2)(b) of the Act provides a wide discretion to the Registrar to cancel the registration of an organization and that section 55(5) provides that an appeal may lie against a decision to cancel the registration of an organization. Recalling that the dissolution of trade union organizations constitutes an extreme form of interference by the authorities in the activities of organizations and should therefore be accompanied by all the necessary guarantees that can only be ensured through a normal judicial procedure with the effect of a stay of execution (see General Survey op. cit., paragraph 188), the Committee requests the Government to clarify whether an appeal under section 55(5) will be suspensive of the decision to cancel the registration of an organization.

Articles 5 and 6. Noting that the Act is silent as to the rights of trade unions and employers’ organizations to form and join national federations and confederations and international organizations, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether federations and confederations of workers and employers are also registered under the same provisions as primary-level organizations, and whether there is any restriction on their right to join international organizations.