Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association

Right of workers and employers to establish organizations without previous authorization4

Minimum number of members

1. The legally required minimum number of members must not be so high as to hinder in practice the establishment of trade union organizations.

1. A minimum requirement of 100 workers to establish unions by branch of activity, occupation or for various occupations must be reduced in consultation with the workers and employers organizations.

1. The establishment of a trade union may be considerably hindered, or even rendered impossible, when legislation fixes the minimum number of members of a trade union at obviously too high a figure, as is the case, for example, where legislation requires that a union must have at least 50 founder members.

1. The requirement of 50 public servants for the establishment of a trade union association is excessive.

1. Even though the minimum number of 30 workers would be acceptable in the case of sectoral trade unions, this minimum number should be reduced in the case of works councils so as not to hinder the establishment of such bodies, particularly when it is taken into account that the country has a very large proportion of small enterprises and that the trade union structure is based on enterprise unions.

1. The legal requirement laid down in the Labour Code for a minimum of 30 workers to establish a trade union should be reduced in order not to hinder the establishment of trade unions at enterprises, especially taking into account the very significant proportion of small enterprises in the country.

1. While a minimum membership requirement is not in itself incompatible with Convention No. 87, the number should be fixed in a reasonable manner so that the establishment of organizations is not hindered. What constitutes a reasonable number may vary according to the particular conditions in which a restriction is imposed.

1. A minimum membership requirement of 30 per cent of the workers concerned to establish an organization is too high.

1. Provisions which impose a membership requirement of 30 per cent of the total number of workers employed in the establishment or group of establishments concerned for a union to be registered and which permit dissolution if membership falls below that level are not in conformity with Article 2 of Convention No. 87.

1. A provision imposing a minimum membership of 50 per cent to form a workers organization would not be in line with Convention No. 87.

1. The introduction into federal legislation of a minimum membership requirement of 10,000 members for the registration of trade unions at the federal level could influence unduly the workers free choice of union to which they wish to belong, even when federal registration is only one of the alternatives available for protecting their rights.

1. The legal requirement that there be a minimum number of 20 members to form a union does not seem excessive and, therefore, does not in itself constitute an obstacle to the formation of a trade union.

1. The Committee considered - in regard to a provision which stipulates that "ten or more employers engaged in the same industry or activity, or similar or related industries of activities may form an employers' organization"- that a minimum number of ten is extremely high and violates the employers' right to form organizations of their own choosing.