Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association

Right of organizations to organize their administration8

Financial administration of organizations

Financial independence in respect of the public authorities

1. The right of workers to establish organizations of their own choosing and the right of such organizations to draw up their own constitutions and internal rules and to organize their administration and activities presuppose financial independence. Such independence implies that workers organizations should not be financed in such a way as to allow the public authorities to enjoy discretionary powers over them.

1. With regard to systems of financing the trade union movement which made trade unions financially dependent on a public body, the Committee considered that any form of state control is incompatible with the principles of freedom of association and should be abolished since it permitted interference by the authorities in the financial management of trade unions.

1. Provisions governing the financial operations of workers organizations should not be such as to give the public authorities discretionary powers over them.

1. Provisions which restrict the freedom of trade unions to administer and utilize their funds as they wish for normal and lawful trade union purposes are incompatible with principles of freedom of association.

1. A system in which workers are bound to pay contributions to a public organization which, in turn, finances trade union organizations, constitutes a serious threat to the independence of these organizations.

1. While trade union training is to be encouraged, it should be provided by the unions themselves; the unions can, of course, take advantage of any material or moral assistance which the government may offer to them.

1. Various systems of subsidizing workers organizations have very different consequences according to the form which they assume, the spirit in which they are conceived and applied and the extent to which the subsidies are granted as a matter of right, by virtue of statutory provisions, or at the discretion of a public authority. The repercussions which financial aid may have on the autonomy of trade union organizations will depend essentially on circumstances; they cannot be assessed by applying general principles: they are questions of fact which must be examined in the light of the circumstances of each case.