Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of organizations to freely organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. For a number of years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to amend section 74(1) and (3) of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, 2002 (EIRA) – according to which, if an amicable settlement of a trade dispute and conciliation has not resulted in a settlement, one of the parties may notify the Minister, who shall refer the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal for settlement – so as to ensure that compulsory arbitration to end a collective labour dispute is only possible in the case of disputes in the public service involving public servants exercising authority in the name of the State or in essential services in the strict sense of the term.

The Committee notes that in its report, the Government indicates that the law aims at providing a speedy solution to labour disputes and that if the onus to resort to the Tribunal was imposed on both parties, they could become reluctant to use the Tribunal and labour relations would further deteriorate. The Government adds that the EIRA does not preclude any of the parties to a dispute to initiate or continue an industrial action even after the trade dispute has been referred to the Tribunal. While taking due note of this information, the Committee observes that the awards of the Industrial Tribunal are binding (section 82(1)) and thus would entail a prohibition of all recourse to an industrial action or a restriction to an ongoing industrial action. The Committee once again recalls in this regard that arbitration to end a collective labour dispute or a strike should only be allowed based on agreement of the parties to the dispute or where the strike may be restricted or prohibited, that is in disputes in the public service involving public servants exercising authority in the name of the State, in essential services in the strict sense of the term or in the event of an acute national crisis. The Committee, therefore, once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures, in consultation with the social partners, to amend section 74(1) and (3) of the EIRA to ensure respect for the abovementioned principles with regard to compulsory arbitration. It requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.

Article 9. Armed forces and the police. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Various Laws (Trade Union Membership of Disciplined Forces) Act, 2015 which amends the EIRA by adding a new section 67A, which gives members of the disciplined forces (defined in the EIRA as armed forces, police, prison service and assistance and rescue force) the right to become members of a registered trade union of their choice. Such a trade union shall not be entitled to limit its membership to any particular rank and shall be entitled to negotiate conditions of employment and to participate in dispute resolution procedures of a conciliatory, mediatory, arbitral or judicial nature on behalf of its members. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 67A of the EIRA, in particular whether any trade unions have been formed and registered under this provision and the number of their members, and also whether any requests for such trade union registration are under consideration or have been rejected.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.