Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association

Conflicts within the trade union movement19

1. A matter involving no dispute between the government and the trade unions, but which involves a conflict within the trade union movement itself, is the sole responsibility of the parties themselves.

1. Conflicts within a trade union should be resolved by its members.

1. The Government has an obligation to adopt a completely neutral attitude in disputes within the trade union movement.

1. The Committee is not competent to make recommendations on internal dissentions within a trade union organization, so long as the government does not intervene in a manner which might affect the exercise of trade union rights and the normal functioning of an organization.

1. While the Committee has no competence to examine the merits of disputes within the various tendencies of a trade union movement, a complaint against another organization, if couched in sufficiently precise terms to be capable of examination on its merits, may bring the government of the country concerned into question for example, if the acts of the organization complained against are wrongfully supported by the government or are of a nature which the government is under a duty to prevent by virtue of its having ratified an international labour Convention.

1. In cases of internal dissentions within a trade union organization, the Committee has pointed out that judicial intervention would permit a clarification of the situation from the legal point of view for the purpose of settling the question of the leadership and representation of the organization concerned.

1. In the case of internal dissention within one and the same trade union federation, by virtue of Article 3 of Convention No. 87, the only obligation of the government is to refrain from any interference which would restrict the right of the workers and employers organizations to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes, and to refrain from any interference which would impede the lawful exercise of that right.

1. Article 2 of Convention No. 98 is designed to protect workers organizations against employers organizations or their agents or members and not against other workers organizations or the agents or members thereof. Inter-union rivalry is outside the scope of the Convention.

1. With regard to the existence of two executive committees within the trade union, one of which is allegedly manipulated by the employer, the Committee recalled the need to lay down explicitly in legislation remedies and penalties for acts of anti-union discrimination and acts of interference by employers in workers organizations in order to ensure the effective application of Article 2 of Convention No. 98.

1. In cases of internal dissention, the Committee has invited the government to persevere with its efforts, in consultation with the organizations concerned, to put in place as soon as possible impartial procedures to enable the workers concerned freely to choose their representatives.

1. When two executive committees each proclaim themselves to be the legitimate one, the dispute should be settled by the judicial authority or an independent arbitrator, and not by the administrative authority.

1. When internal disputes arise in a trade union organization they should be resolved by the persons concerned (for example, by a vote), by appointing an independent mediator with the agreement of the parties concerned, or by intervention of the judicial authorities.

1. Conflicts within a trade union lie outside the competence of the Committee and should be resolved by the parties themselves or by recourse to the judicial authority or an independent arbitrator.

1. In cases of internal conflict, the Committee has pointed out that judicial intervention would permit a clarification of the situation from the legal point of view for the purpose of settling questions concerning the management and representation of the trade union federation concerned. Another possible means of settlement would be to appoint an independent arbitrator to be agreed on by the parties concerned, to seek a joint solution to existing problems and, if necessary, to hold new elections. In either case, the government should recognize the leaders designated as the legitimate representatives of the organization.

1. Violence resulting from inter-union rivalry might constitute an attempt to impede the free exercise of trade union rights. If this were the case and if the acts in question were sufficiently serious, it appears that the intervention of the authorities, in particular the police, would be called for in order to provide adequate protection of those rights. The question of infringement of trade union rights by the government would only arise to the extent that it may have acted improperly with regard to the alleged violence.