The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

JULY/AUGUST 1991

Vital Issues of Trade Union Law NUJ, IPU & others. Applicants, and Noel Martin Sisk (Registrar of Friendly Societies) and others. Respondents, Judicial Review, High Court, 31 July, 1990, Keane, J., Supreme Court, 20 June, 1991.

existence). Transferor unions some- times retain their indentity inform- ally as a branch or section of the transferee union. Trade Union Act r 1975 (No. 4 of 1975) The main relevant provisions are as follows: Sect. 1: "Trade Union", save where the context otherwise requires, has the same meaning as in the Trade Union Acts, 1871-1971. Sect. 2 (3): Subject to the Act, a trade union may transfer its en- gagements to another trade union. Sect. 3: There are strict conditions for amalgamations or transfers of engagement, e.g. members' voting by secret ballot, and notification of members re holding the ballot. Sect. 6: The legal instrument of amalgamation or transfer shall not take effect before it is registered by Registrar. Sect. 10: The Registrar has import- ant powers including adjudicating on complaints by union members regarding resolutions on amalgama- tions or transfers of engagements. The Registrar's power under Sect. 10 (9), purporting to exclude investigation of the validity of a resolution approving an instrument of transfer or amalgamation, in any legal proceedings except those

Trade Union Law, especially regarding registration and mergers, is often overshadowed within the wider area of Labour Law which generally focuses on employment and dismissal aspects. The importance and complexity of Trade Union registration law, however, are apparent from a recent decision of Mr. Justice Keane in the High Court, 1 " which was reversed by the Supreme Court. 1b Summary of Case

Mr. Justice Keane, in the High Court, was satisfied that the Registrar was entirely correct in the decision he arrived at. The Court upheld the Registrar's decision because there was no legislative basis providing that a trade union registered in the State could amalgamate with or transfer its engagements to one not so registered. The learned Judge re- jected an extra-territorial construct- ion of the legislation and also by Anthony P. Quinn, Barrister-at-Law, MA , B. Comm, FIIS, Dip. Public Adm; A.C.I. Arb.* arguments by Mrs. Mary Robinson, S.C., counsel for applicants, based on freedom of association, Article 40.6.1 (iii) of the Irish Constitution. Comment and Legislative Background The Registrar's decision, as upheld by the High Court, raises vital points regarding trade union registration law and the position of British-based unions operating in the State. The outcome of the Registrar's decision and the High Court review, however, seems logical and correct having regard to existing law on trade unions in the Irish jurisdiction: The Trade Union Act, 1871, a landmark Statute and still the principal Act in the Irish jurisdiction; some smaller amend- ing Acts, including 1876 and 1913 and the fairly technical Trade Union Act, 1975 on mergers by amal- gamation (formation of new union) and transfer of engagements (transferor union ceases to exist but transferee union retains its

The Irish Print Union (IPU) wished to transfer its engagements (in general terms, a type of merger) to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). The Registrar of Friendly Societies is the Registrar of trade unions for the purposes of the Principal Act, the Trade Union Act, 1871, and also the Trade Union Act, 1975 dealing with mergers. The Registrar's approval of relevant documents is required before a transfer of engagements can be completed. 2 The first respondent, Mr. Noel Martin Sisk, solicitor and current Registrar, declined to register the transfer of engagements. The reason for the Registrar's decision was that he was satisfied that the jurisdiction of the Trade Union Act, 1975, and therefore of the Registrar, is limited to trade unions registered in the State. (There is an exception, under Section 9 of the 1975 Act, to cover the other side of the coin: Where a majority of members of a British-based trade union in the State and Northern Ireland wish to merge with a trade union registered in the State). The NUJ was was not registered in the State, and could not be regarded as a trade union for the purposes of the Trade Union Act, 1975. The NUJ, a British-based union operating in Ireland on a branch basis, is not registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies, Dublin. (The NUJ does, however, have a negotiation licence granted by the Minister for Industry and Commerce, now Labour under the Trade Union Act, 1941). A judicial review of the Registrar's refusal to register the transfer of engage- ments was sought, together with an order of certiorari quashing the Registrar's decision.

Anthony P. Quinn

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