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Fiji Legislation |
LAWS OF FIJI
CHAPTER 96
TRADE UNIONS
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I-PRELIMINARY
SECTION
1.
Short
title.
2.
Interpretation and
application.
PART
II-APPOINTMENT OF REGISTRAR, ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
AND OTHER
OFFICERS
3.
Appointment of Registrar and Advisory
Committee.
4.
Appointment of Assistant Registrars and other
officers.
5.
Protection of officers.
PART III-REGISTRATION
6.
Registration of trade
unions.
7.
Necessity for
registration.
8.
Application for
registration.
9.
Registration.
10. Certificate
of
registration.
11. Power
of Registrar to call for further
particulars.
12. Power
of Registrar to require alteration of
name.
13. Refusal
of
registration.
14. Cancellation
or suspension of
registration.
15. Consequences
of suspension of
registration.
16. Appeal
against refusal to
register.
17. Effect
of
registration.
18. Effect
of cancellation of
registration.
19. Powers
of liquidator and Registrar in winding up of affairs of a trade
union.
20. Closure
of original liquidation on appointment of liquidator by
Registrar.
21. Unregistered
trade unions prohibited from carrying on business.
PART IV-RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES
22. Unregistered
trade unions and officers and members not to enjoy rights, immunities or
privileges.
23. Liability
in relation to criminal
prosecutions.
24. Trade
union not
unlawful.
25. Immunity
from civil suit in certain
cases.
26. Liability
in
tort.
27. Liability
in
contract.
28. Proceedings
by and against trade unions.
PART V-RULES AND CONSTITUTION
29. Membership
of persons under
sixteen.
30. Membership
of
minors.
31. Officers
of a trade
union.
32. Voting
members of trade
union.
33. Change
of
name.
34. Notice
of change of
name.
35. Effect
of change of
name.
36. Registered
office and postal
address.
37. Rules.
38. Copies
of rules and
constitution.
39. Notification
of officers,
etc.
40. Right
of inspection of Registrar's
records.
41. Delegation
of powers of trade union.
PART VI-AMALGAMATION AND DISSOLUTION
42. Consent
of Registrar required to amalgamation of trade
unions.
43. Application
for consent to
amalgamation.
44. Vote
on application for consent to
amalgamation.
45. Grounds
for refusal to consent to amalgamation and procedure in such
cases.
46. Notice
in writing to be given of consent to amalgamation, and saving of powers of
Registrar in relation to registration of trade union
formed by
amalgamation.
47. Procedure
for amalgamation,
etc.
48. Transfer
of liabilities, etc., to trade union formed by
amalgamation.
49. Notification
of dissolution.
PART VII-APPLICATION OF FUNDS
50. Use
of
funds.
51. Prohibition
of payment of fines or
penalties.
52. Books
of account, etc. to be kept at registered
office.
53. Safeguarding
of union funds and
property.
54. Annual
returns.
55. Inspection
of accounts and
documents.
56. Obstructing
inspection by
Registrar.
57. Power
to call for detailed accounts.
PART VIII-CONSPIRACY AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
58. Conspiracy
in trade
disputes.
59. Freedom
of association of employees.
PART IX-REGULATIONS
60. Regulations.
PART X-OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
61. Penalty
for misuse of money or property of a trade
union.
62. Penalty
for failure to give notice or produce
document.
63. Limitation
of
prosecutions.
64. Jurisdiction.
PART XI-MISCELLANEOUS
65. Nomination.
66. Service
of notice,
etc.
67. Notification
in the
Gazette.
68. Provisions
of certain Acts not to apply to trade unions.
-------------------------------------
TRADE UNIONS
Ordinances
Nos. 4 of 1964, 42 of 1965, 37 of 1966, 14 of
1969,
Act No. 7 of
1973
AN ACT
TO MAKE FRESH PROVISIONS FOR THE REGISTRATION
AND
REGULATION OF
TRADE UNIONS
[1st November, 1964]
PART I-PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.
This Act may be cited as the Trade Unions Act.
Interpretation and application
2.-(1)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"employee" means any person who has entered into or works under contract with an employer, whether the contract be for manual labour, clerical work or otherwise, be expressed or implied, oral or in writing, and whether it be a contract of service apprenticeship or a contract personally to execute any work;
"executive committee" means the body to which the management of the affairs of a trade union is entrusted by the members and includes any person for the time being carrying out the functions of a president, secretary or treasurer thereof;
"lockout" means the closing of a place of employment or the suspension of work or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him in consequence of a dispute, done with a view to compelling those persons, or to aid another employer in compelling persons employed by him, to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment;
"officer" when used with reference to a trade union, includes any member of the executive committee thereof and any officer of a branch thereof, but does not include an auditor;
"register" means the register of trade unions maintained by the Registrar under section 6;
"registered office" means that office within Fiji of a trade union which is registered under the provisions of section 36 as the head office of the trade union;
"registered postal address" means the address of a trade union registered under the provisions of section 36;
"registered trade union" means a trade union registered as a trade union under the provisions of this Act;
"Registrar" means the person for the time being appointed by the Minister under the provisions of section 3 by name or by office to be or to act as Registrar of Trade Unions, and includes any person appointed by the Minister under section 4 to be or to act as an Assistant Registrar of Trade Unions;
"strike" means a cessation of work by a body of employees employed in any trade, industry or calling, acting in combination, or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of employees who are employed, or who have been so employed, to continue to work or to accept employment;
"strike benefit" means any financial or other benefit given by a trade union to any member of the trade union in consideration of a strike or lockout;
"trade dispute" means any dispute or difference between employers and employees or between employees and employees, connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment, or with the conditions of labour, of any person;
"trade union" means any combination whether temporary or permanent, of more than six persons the principal objects of which are under its constitution and rules the regulation of the relations between employees and employers, or between employees and employees, or between employers and employers, whether such combination would or would not, if this Act (or the Industrial Associations Act) had not been enacted, have been deemed to have been an unlawful combination by reason of some one or more of its objects being in restraint of trade:
(Cap. 95.)
Provided that-
(a) nothing in this Act-
(i) shall affect-
(aa) any agreement between partners as to their own business;
(bb) except as provided in section 62, any agreement between an employer and his employee as to such employment; or
(cc) any agreement in consideration of the sale of the goodwill of a business or of instruction in any profession, trade or handicraft; or
(ii) shall preclude any trade union from providing benefits for its members;
(b) if in any trade or business there are not more than six employers then nothing in this definition shall be deemed to prevent such employers forming a trade union and any requirement in this Act requiring any application to be supported by more than six members shall be deemed not to apply to any such trade union or proposed trade union;
"welfare fund" means trade union funds allocated or set apart for payment to members or the families of members of the trade union of any assurance or benefit, other than strike benefit, or for the provision for such members or such families of educational, recreational or medical facilities.
(2) This Act shall not apply to persons in the Naval, Military or Air Services of the Crown or to the Royal Fiji Police Force or Fiji Prisons Service, but otherwise shall apply to employees employed by or under the Crown in the same manner as if they were employed by or under a private person.
PART
II-APPOINTMENT OF REGISTRAR, ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
AND OTHER
OFFICERS
Appointment of Registrar and Advisory Committee
3.-(1)
The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of Trade Unions who shall be responsible
for the due performance of the duties and functions
assigned to him as Registrar
under this Act.
(2) The Minister
shall appoint a Committee of four persons to advise the Registrar in relation to
the performance of his duties and
functions assigned to him under the provisions
of sections 9, 12, 13,
14, 34 and
37.
(Amended
by 42 of 1965, s. 2.)
(3) The
Committee shall consist of-
(a) a person who in the opinion of the Minister represents employers; and
(b) a person who in the opinion of the Minister represents employees; and
(c) two persons who in the opinion of the Minister are independent persons one of whom shall be chairman of the Committee.
(Substituted by 42 of 1965, s. 2.)
(4)
The Committee shall decide its own
procedure.
(5) The Registrar shall
consult the Committee when performing any duties or functions assigned to him
under the provisions of sections
9, 12, 13, 14,
34 and
37
and any advice rendered by the Committee
to the Registrar in pursuance of the provisions of this subsection shall be
given in
writing.
(Substituted
by 42 of 1965, s. 2.)
(6) The
Committee shall have power to invite the attendance of other persons at meetings
of the Committee and such other persons may
so attend and take part in the
proceedings but shall not be entitled to
vote.
(Inserted by
42 of 1965, s. 2.)
Appointment of Assistant Registrars and other officers
4.
The Minister may appoint one or more Assistant Registrars of Trade Unions,
inspectors and such other officers as may from time to
time be required for the
purposes of this
Act.
(Amended by
14 of 1969, s. 2.)
Protection of officers
5.
No suit shall lie against any officer appointed under the provisions of sections
3
or
4
for anything done or omitted to be done by him in good faith and without
negligence and in the exercise or intended exercise of any
power or in the
performance or intended performance of any duty conferred or imposed by this
Act.
PART III-REGISTRATION
Registration of trade unions
6.-(1)
The Registrar shall keep and maintain in such form as may be prescribed, a
register of trade unions in which shall be contained
the prescribed particulars
relating to any such registered trade union and any alteration or change which
may from time to time be
effected in the name, rules and constitution, officers
or registered postal address thereof or in the situation of the registered
office thereof, and all such other matters as may be required to be contained
therein under this Act or any regulations made
thereunder.
(2) A copy of any
entry in the register certified under the hand of the Registrar shall, until the
contrary be shown, be proof of
the facts specified therein, as on the date of
such certified copy.
Necessity for registration
7.-(1)
Every trade union formed after the commencement of this Act, shall apply to be
registered as a trade union under the provisions
of this Act within one month of
the date of its formation.
(2)
Every trade union in existence at the commencement of this Act and which is
registered as an industrial association shall apply
to be registered as a trade
union under the provisions of this Act within a period of three months reckoned
from the commencement
thereof.
(3)
For the purposes of this section a trade union is deemed to be formed on the
first date on which more than the prescribed number
of employees or employers,
as the case may be, agree in writing to become or to form a trade
union,
(4) (a) If any trade union shall fail to apply for registration in accordance with the provisions of this section, the trade union, every officer thereof, and every person acting as an officer thereof or purporting so to act, shall be guilty of an offence and each such person shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, and in the case of a continuing offence to a fine not exceeding two dollars per day for every day during which the offence continues; and
(b) The trade union shall be deemed to be dissolved on notification in writing to that effect by the Registrar.
Application for registration
8.-(1)
Every application for registration as a trade union shall be made to the
Registrar in the prescribed form and subject to paragraph
(b) of the proviso to
the definition of trade union set out in subsection (1) of section
2,
shall be signed by at least seven members of the body applying for registration,
any of whom may be officers thereof.
(2) Every such application shall be accompanied by four copies of the rules of the trade union or the proposed trade union duly authenticated by the president and the secretary and a statement of the following particulars namely:-
(a) the names, occupations and addresses of members making application;
(b) the name of the trade union or proposed trade union and the address of its registered office and its registered postal address; and
(c) the titles, names, ages, occupations and addresses of the officers of the trade union or proposed trade union.
(Subsection amended by 42 of 1965, s. 3.)
Registration
9.
Subject to the provisions of sections
11,
12 and
13,
the Registrar shall register the trade union in the prescribed manner as a
registered trade union.
Certificate of registration
10.
The Registrar, on registering a trade union under the provisions of section
9,
shall issue to the trade union a certificate of registration in the prescribed
form and that certificate, unless proved to have been
cancelled or withdrawn,
shall be conclusive evidence for all purposes that the trade union has been duly
registered under this Act.
Power of Registrar to call for further particulars
11.
The Registrar may call for further information for the purpose of satisfying
himself that any application made by a trade union
or proposed trade union for
registration complies with the provisions of this Act or that the trade union or
proposed trade union
is entitled to registration under this Act.
Power of Registrar to require alteration of name
12.
If the name under which a trade union is proposed to be registered is identical
with that by which any other existing trade union
has been registered or, in the
opinion of the Registrar, so nearly resembles such name as to be likely to
deceive or mislead the
public or the members of either trade union or is
undesirable, the Registrar shall require the persons applying for registration
to alter the name of the trade union stated in the application, and shall refuse
to register the trade union until such alteration
has been made.
Refusal of registration
13.-(1)
The Registrar may refuse to register any trade union if he is satisfied
that-
(a) the trade union has not complied with the provisions of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder;
(b) any of the objects in the constitution or rules of the trade union is unlawful or conflicts with any such provisions;
(c) the trade union is used for unlawful purposes;
(d) the principal objects of the combination seeking registration are not in accordance with those set out in the definition of "trade union" contained in section 2;
(e) any other trade union already registered is adequately representative of the whole or of a substantial proportion of the interests in respect of which the applicants seek registration:
Provided that the Registrar shall, by notice in the Gazette or otherwise, notify any registered trade union which appears to him to represent the same interests as the applicants of the receipt of such application, and shall invite the registered trade union concerned to submit in writing within a period of twenty-one days any objections which any such trade union may wish to make against registration;
(Amended by 14 of 1969, s. 3.)
(f) the trade union seeking registration is an organization consisting of persons engaged in or working at more than one trade or calling and that its constitution does not contain suitable provision for the protection and promotion of their respective sectional interests;
(Amended by 42 of 1965, s. 4.)
(g) proper and satisfactory arrangements for the custody, distribution, investment of and payment from the funds of such trade union are not contained in the constitution thereof.
(2)
When the Registrar refuses to register a trade union, he shall notify the
applicants in writing of the grounds of such refusal
within two months of the
date of receipt of such application and the trade union shall be deemed to be
dissolved but such dissolution
shall not take effect prior to the expiry of the
period limited by subsection (1) of section
16
for the bringing of an appeal and then-
(a) if no appeal is brought under the said subsection within that period, the dissolution shall take effect at the commencement of the day following the day on which that period expired; and
(b) if an appeal is brought within that period, the dissolution shall not take effect prior to the determination of the appeal, but, if the appeal is dismissed, shall take effect on the determination thereof.
(3)
Any person acting as an officer of a trade union which has been deemed to be
dissolved under the provisions of subsection (2)
or under the provisions of
paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
7
or any person purporting so to act shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty
dollars, and in the case of a
continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding two dollars for each day during
which the offence
continues:
Provided that it shall
be no offence for a person to act on behalf of such a dissolved trade union for
the purpose of-
(a) any proceedings brought by or against any such union; or
(b) dissolving such union and disposing of its funds in accordance with its constitution and rules.
Cancellation or suspension of registration
14.-(1)
The registration and the certificate of registration of a registered trade union
may be cancelled by the Registrar at the request
of the trade union upon its
dissolution, to be verified in such manner as the Registrar may
require.
(2) The registration and
the certificate of registration of a registered trade union shall be cancelled
or suspended by the Registrar
if he is satisfied that-
(a) the registration was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation;
(b) any of the objects of the trade union has become unlawful;
(c) the objects for which a trade union is actually carried on are such that had they been declared as objects of the constitution and rules of the union at the time of application for registration the Registrar could properly have refused registration;
(d) the trade union has wilfully and after notice from the Registrar contravened any provision of this Act or allowed any rule to continue in force which is inconsistent with any provision of this Act, or has rescinded any rule providing for any matter, for which provision is required by section 37 to be made; or
(e) the trade union has ceased to exist.
(3)
The registration and the certificate of registration of a registered trade union
may be cancelled or suspended by the Registrar
if he is satisfied
that-
(a) the funds of the trade union have been or are being expended in an unlawful manner or on an unlawful object or on an object not authorised by this Act;
(b) the accounts of the trade union are not being kept in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(c) the trade union, being an organisation consisting of persons engaged in or working at more than one trade or calling and having a constitution providing for the protection and promotion of the respective sectional industrial interests of its members has failed to carry out the provisions of its constitution;
(Amended by 42 of 1965, s. 5.)
(d) registration was obtained by mistake;
(e) the trade union has been or is being used for any unlawful purpose or for any purpose inconsistent with its objects or rules;
(Amended by 42 of 1965, s. 5.)
(f) the officers or any of the officers of the trade union have persistently and wilfully failed to comply with the provisions of this Act;
(Inserted by 14 of 1969, s. 4.)
Provided
that where the registration is suspended under the provisions of this subsection
the Registrar shall before the expiration
of four months from the date of such
suspension, either restore the registration or cancel the registration and
certificate.
(4) Except that in a case falling within subsection (1), not less than two months' previous notice in writing specifying the grounds on which it is proposed to cancel its registration shall be given by the Registrar to a trade union before such registration is cancelled, and not less than one month's previous notice in writing specifying the grounds upon which it is proposed to suspend its registration shall be given by the Registrar to a trade union before such suspension.
(5)
A trade union served with a notice under subsection (4) may, at any time within
a period of two months in the case of a notice
of cancellation and one month in
the case of a notice of suspension, both periods to be reckoned from the date of
such notice, show
cause in writing against the proposal to cancel or suspend its
registration, as the case may be; and, if such cause is shown the
Registrar may
hold such inquiry as he may consider necessary in the
circumstances.
(6) The notice to
be served upon any trade union under the provisions of subsections (4) and (5)
shall be served on any two officers
from among the secretary, the president and
the treasurer of such trade union and the Registrar shall in addition advertise
his intention
to suspend or cancel the registration of the trade union in the
Gazette and at least one newspaper published and circulating in Fiji,
and the
period of two months or one month, as the case may be, specified in subsection
(5) shall commence from the date of publication
of such advertisement in the
Gazette.
(Substituted
by 14 of 1969, s. 4.)
(7) An order
made by the Registrar under this section cancelling or suspending the
registration of any trade union shall be dated
as of the date on which it was
made and shall specify briefly the grounds for the cancellation or suspension of
the registration
and shall forthwith be served on the trade union affected
thereby.
Consequences of suspension of registration
15.
If the registration of any trade union is suspended, then during the period of
such suspension the trade union shall cease to enjoy
any of the rights,
immunities or privileges of a registered trade union but without prejudice to
any liabilities incurred by the
trade union, which may be enforced against the
trade union and its assets, nor shall its officers or members enjoy any of the
rights
or privileges accorded to the officers and members of a registered trade
union.
Appeal against refusal to register
16.-(1)
Any person aggrieved by the refusal of the Registrar to register a trade union,
or by an order made by the Registrar under section
14, may within one month of
the date of the refusal or order, as the case may be, appeal against such
refusal or order to the Supreme
Court and from such appeal the Supreme Court may
order as it thinks proper, including any directions as to the costs of the
appeal.
(2) The Supreme Court in
hearing any such appeal shall have all the powers which it may exercise in the
hearing of a civil suit.
Effect of registration
17.
The registration of a trade union shall render it a body corporate by the name
under which it is registered, and, subject to the
provisions of this Act with
perpetual succession and with power to hold property real or personal and to
enter into contracts, to
institute and defend suits and other legal proceedings
and to do all things necessary to for the purposes of its
constitution.
Effect of cancellation of registration
18.-(1)
Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) a trade union whose registration has
been cancelled under this Act shall in addition
to any other
disability-
(a) cease to exist as a corporate body, and the Registrar may, notwithstanding anything contained in the rules of such trade union, forthwith appoint one or more persons to be liquidators thereof;
(b) cease to enjoy any of the rights, immunities or privileges of a registered trade union, but without prejudice to any liability incurred by the trade union, which may be enforced against the trade union or its assets, whether such liability is incurred before, on or after the date of the cancellation of registration;
(c) forthwith be dissolved and no person shall, except for the purpose of defending proceedings against the trade union or of dissolving it and disposing of its funds in accordance with the rules thereof and the provisions of this Act, take any part in its management or organisation or act or purport to act on behalf of the trade union or as an officer thereof.
(2)
Where the registration of a trade union is cancelled, the cancellation shall not
take effect for the purposes of subsection (1)
prior to the expiry of the period
limited by subsection (1) of section 16 for the bringing of an appeal and
then-
(a) if no appeal is brought under the said subsection within that period, the cancellation shall take effect for those purposes at the commencement of the day following the day on which that period expired; and
(b) it an appeal is so brought within that period the cancellation shall not take effect prior to the determination of the appeal, but, if the appeal is dismissed, shall take effect for those purposes on the determination thereof.
Powers of liquidator and Registrar in winding up of affairs of a trade union
19.-(1)
Where a liquidator is appointed under section 18, all of the property of
whatsoever description (including books and documents)
belonging to the trade
union shall vest in the liquidator by his official name with effect from the
date of his appointment and the
liquidator, after giving such indemnity, if any,
as the Registrar may direct, may-
(a) bring or defend in his official name any action or other legal proceeding that relates to the property of the trade union or is necessary to bring or defend for the purpose of effectively winding up the trade union and recovering its property;
(b) take possession of any books, documents or property of whatsoever description belonging to the trade union;
(c) sell the real and personal property and choses in action of the trade union by public auction or private contract, with power to transfer the whole thereof to any person or company or to sell the same in parcels;
(d) appoint a barrister and solicitor or agent to assist him in his duties;
(e) pay any creditors or classes of creditors of the trade union in full or in part;
(f) compromise any debts or liabilities of the trade union and any liabilities capable of resulting in debts and any claims, present or future certain or contingent, ascertained or sounding only in damages, that subsist, or are supposed to subsist, between the trade union and any member thereof or any other debtor or person apprehending liability to the trade union and any questions in any way relating to or affecting the assets or winding up of the affairs of the trade union on such terms as may be agreed, and take any security for the discharge of any such debt, liability or claim and give complete discharge in respect thereof;
(g) make any compromise with creditors of the trade union or persons claiming to be creditors or having or alleging themselves to have any claim present or future, certain or contingent, ascertained or sounding only in damages, against the trade union or whereby the trade union may be rendered liable; and
(h) prepare a scheme of distribution of the assets of the trade union available for distribution and, subject to the approval of the same by the Registrar, distribute the assets accordingly.
(2)
The exercise by the liquidator of any of the powers conferred by this section
shall be subject to the control of the Registrar,
and any creditor or member of
the trade union may apply to the Registrar with respect to any exercise or
proposed exercise of any
of those
powers.
(3) Without prejudice to
the generality of subsection (2), the Registrar may-
(a) rescind or vary any order made by a liquidator or substitute therefor a new order;
(b) remove a liquidator from office;
(c) make an order upon the assets of the trade union for the remuneration of any liquidator;
(d) call for and inspect the books, documents or assets of a trade union;
(e) by order in writing limit or restrict the powers of a liquidator;
(f) at any time require accounts to be rendered to him by a liquidator;
(g) refer any subject of dispute between a liquidator and any third party to arbitration subject to the consent in writing of such third party;
(h) summon such meetings of the members of the trade union as may appear to him convenient for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the trade union.
(4)
A liquidator appointed under section
18
or the Registrar shall, in so far as such powers are necessary for the carrying
out of the purposes of this section, have power to
summon and enforce the
attendance of parties and witnesses and to compel the production of documents by
the same means and (so far
as may be) in the same manner as is provided in the
case of a magistrate.
Closure of original liquidation on appointment of liquidator by Registrar
20.
Where a liquidator has been appointed under section
18
for the liquidation of a registered trade
union the registration of which has been cancelled, then, notwithstanding
anything contained
in the rules of the trade union-
(a) all of the funds (including welfare funds, if any) and assets of whatsoever description belonging to the trade union shall be realized and converted into money and shall be applied first to the cost of the liquidation, then to the discharge of the liabilities of the trade union, then to the payment of share capital, if any, and then in such manner as may be provided by the rules of the trade union or, failing provision therefor, in such manner as the Registrar may direct;
(b) when the liquidation of the trade union has been closed and any creditor thereof has not claimed or received what is due to him under the scheme of distribution, notice of the closing of the liquidation shall be published in the Gazette and all claims against the funds of the trade union shall be proscribed when two years shall have elapsed from the date of such publication;
(c) any surplus remaining after the application of the funds to the purposes specified in paragraph (a) and the payment of any claims under paragraph (b) shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Unregistered trade unions prohibited from carrying on business
21.-(1)
No trade union or any officer or member thereof shall perform any act in
furtherance of the objects for which it has been formed
unless application has
been made by such trade union for registration in accordance with the provisions
of section
8;
Provided
that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply-
(a) to a person taking part in the management or organisation of the trade union or acting on behalf of or as an officer of the trade union for the purpose of-
(i) any proceedings brought by or against the trade union; or
(ii) dissolving the trade union and disposing of its funds in accordance with its constitution and rules; or
(b) to any trade union in existence at the commencement of this Act, whether or not such trade union is registered as an industrial association during any period of three months after the commencement of this Act and thereafter until registration has been effected or the Registrar has refused to register such union and any ensuing appeal has been determined; or
(c) to any officer or member of a trade union specified in paragraph (b) during the period specified therein.
(2)
Any trade union, any officer or member thereof, and any person acting as an
officer thereof or purporting so to act, who contravenes
the provisions of
subsection (1) shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars and
in the case of a continuing offence
to a fine not exceeding two dollars for each
day during which the offence continues.
PART IV-RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES
Unregistered
trade unions and officers and members not to enjoy
rights,
immunities
or privileges
22.
No trade union shall enjoy any of the rights, immunities or privileges of a
registered trade union until it is registered as a trade
union, nor shall its
officers or members enjoy any of the rights or privileges accorded to the
officers and members of a registered
trade union.
Liability in relation to criminal prosecutions
23.
The purposes of any registered trade union shall not, by reason merely that they
are in restraint of trade, be deemed to be unlawful
so as to render any member
of such trade union liable to criminal prosecution for conspiracy or
otherwise.
Trade union not unlawful
24.
The purposes of any registered trade union shall not, by reason merely that they
are in restraint of trade, be unlawful so as to
render void or voidable any
agreement or trust.
Immunity from civil suit in certain cases
25.
No suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in any civil court
against any registered trade union or any officer or
member thereof in respect
of any act done in contemplation or in furtherance of a trade dispute on the
ground only that such act
induces some other person to break a contract of
employment, or that it is in interference with the trade, business or employment
of some other person or with the right of some other person to dispose of his
capital or of his labour as he wills.
Liability in tort
26.-(1)
A suit against a registered trade union or against any member or officer thereof
on behalf of themselves and all other members
of such a registered trade union
in respect of any tortious act alleged to have been committed by or on behalf of
such trade union
shall not be entertained by any
court.
(2) Nothing in this section
shall affect the liability of a trade union or any member or officer thereof to
be sued in any court touching
or concerning the property or rights of a trade
union except in respect of any tortious act committed by or on behalf of a
registered
trade union in contemplation or in furtherance of a trade
dispute.
Liability in contract
27.-(1)
Every trade union shall be liable on any contract entered into by it or by an
agent acting on its
behalf:
Provided that a trade
union shall not be so liable on any contract which is void or unenforceable at
law.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall
enable any court to entertain any legal proceeding instituted with the object of
directly enforcing
or recovering damages for the breach of any of the following
agreements, namely:-
(a) any agreement between members of a trade union as such, concerning the conditions on which any members for the time being of such trade union shall or shall not sell their goods, transact business, employ or be employed;
(b) any agreement for the payment by any person of any subscription or penalty to a trade union;
(c) any agreement for the application of the funds of a trade union-
(i) to provide benefits to members other than benefits under a contributory provident fund or pensions scheme;
(ii) to furnish contributions to any employer or employee not a member of such trade union, in consideration of such employer or employee acting in conformity with the rules of resolutions of such trade union;
(d) any agreement made between one trade union and another; or
(e) any bond to secure the performance of any of the abovementioned agreements,
but
nothing in this section shall be deemed to constitute any of the above-
mentioned agreements unlawful.
Proceedings by and against trade unions
28.-(1)
Execution for any money recovered from a trade union in civil proceedings may
issue against any property belonging to a trade
union other than any benevolent
or provident fund of a registered trade
union.
(2) Any fine ordered to be
paid by a trade union may be recovered by distress and sale of any property
belonging to such trade union
in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal
Procedure
Code:
(Cap.
21)
Provided that no distress
shall be levied on any benevolent or provident fund kept by the union unless the
court so orders.
PART V-RULES AND CONSTITUTION
Membership of persons under sixteen
29.
A person under the age of sixteen years may be a member of a registered trade
union, unless provision is made in the constitution
and rules thereof to the
contrary, but shall not be a voting member or a member of the executive
committee of a registered trade
union.
(Amended by 37 of
1966, s. 97.)
Membership of minors
30.
A person under the age of twenty-one but above the age of sixteen years, may be
a member of a registered trade union, unless provision
be made in the
constitution and rules thereof to the contrary, and may, subject to such
constitution and rules, enjoy all the rights
of a member except as in this Act
provided and execute all instruments and give all acquittances necessary to be
executed or given
under the rules, but shall not be a member of the executive
committee of a registered trade union.
Officers of a trade union
31.-(1)
All the officers of every trade union shall be persons who have been and still
are engaged or occupied for a period of not less
than one year in an industry,
trade or occupation with which the union is directly concerned, and no officer
of any such union shall
be an officer of any other
union:
Provided
that-
(a) the office of secretary may be filled by a person not actually engaged or employed in an industry, trade or occupation with which the union is directly concerned; and
(b) the Registrar may, in his discretion, permit the office of treasurer to be filled by a person not actually engaged or employed in an industry, trade or occupation with which the union is directly concerned;
(c) where, at 27th June, 1969, a person not actually engaged or employed in an industry, trade or occupation with which the union is directly concerned holds the office of president, he shall continue in such office until he fails to be re-elected thereto or otherwise vacates it.
(Inserted by 14 of 1969, s. 5.)
(2)
No person shall hold the post of secretary or treasurer of a registered trade
union who, in the Registrar's opinion, has not acquired
a sufficiently high
standard of literacy so as to enable him to perform his duties
effectively.
(3) No person who has
been convicted of any crime involving fraud, dishonesty or extortion shall be an
officer of a registered trade
union during the period of five years immediately
following the date of such conviction.
Voting members of trade union
32.-(1)
No person shall be a voting member of a trade union unless he is normally
employed and normally resident within
Fiji.
(2) No person shall be a
voting member in more than one trade union.
Change of name
33.
Any registered trade union may, with the consent of not less than two- thirds of
the total number of its voting members and subject
to the provisions of section
34,
change its
name.
(Amended by
42 of 1965, s. 6.)
Notice of change of name
34.-(1)
Notice in writing containing such particulars as may be prescribed shall be
given to the Registrar of every change of name signed
by the secretary and by
seven members of the registered trade union changing its
name.
(2) If the proposed name is
identical with that by which any other existing registered trade union has been
registered or is undesirable
or, in the opinion of the Registrar, so nearly
resembles such name as to be likely to deceive the public or the members of
either
trade union, the Registrar shall refuse to register the change of
name.
(3) Save as provided in
subsection (2) the Registrar shall if he is satisfied that the provisions of
this Act in respect of change
of name have been complied with, register the
change of name in the prescribed manner, and the change of name shall have
effect from
the date of such
registration.
(4) Any person
aggrieved by the refusal of the Registrar to register a change of name of a
registered trade union may appeal against
such refusal in the manner provided by
section
16.
Effect of change of name
35.
A change in the name of a registered trade union shall not affect any right or
obligation of such trade union or render defective,
any legal proceedings by or
against such trade union, and any legal proceeding which might have been
continued or commenced by or
against it under its former name may be continued
or commenced by or against it under its new name.
Registered office and postal address
36.-(1)
Every trade union shall have a registered office and registered postal address,
to which all communications and notices may
be addressed.
(2) (a) Notice of the situation of such registered office and registered postal address, and of any change thereof or therein shall be given to the Registrar and shall be registered by him, and the trade union shall not be deemed to have complied with the provisions of this Act until such notice has been given.
(b) Notice of any such change as aforesaid shall be given to the Registrar by posting to him immediately such change occurs a registered letter containing such notice.
(3)
Any trade union which-
(a) operates without having a registered office and registered postal address, or without giving notice of the situation of its registered office as hereinbefore required; or
(b) operates at any place to which its registered office may have been removed, without having given notice of the change in the situation thereof to the Registrar; or
(c) fails to give notice of any change of the situation of the registered office or in the registered postal address in accordance with the provisions of this section,
shall
be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred
dollars.
Rules
37.-(1)
The rules of every trade union shall provide for all the matters specified in
the Schedule, and shall not be so altered or amended
as to cease to contain
provisions in respect of all such
matters.
(2) Four copies of every
new rule and of every alteration made in the rules of a trade union shall be
sent to the Registrar within
fourteen days of the making of such rule or
alteration and shall be registered by the Registrar upon payment of the
prescribed
fee:
(Amended by
42 of 1965, s. 7.)
Provided that no new rule or alteration made in the rules of a trade union shall be registered by the Registrar if such new rule or alteration is in conflict with the provisions of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder or would offend against the principles set out in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section 13 in which latter case the procedure laid down in the proviso to such paragraph shall mutatis mutandis be applied.
(Amended by 14 of 1969, s. 6.)
(3)
Every alteration of the rules of a trade union shall take effect from the date
of registration thereof by the Registrar unless
some later date is specified in
the rules.
(4) In any case in
which proceedings may competently be instituted by a member of a trade union for
the purpose of restraining the
trade union or officer thereof from acting in
breach of the provisions of its rules, such proceedings may be instituted by the
Registrar
if he shall think it fit or expedient so to do.
Copies of rules and constitution
38.-(1)
A copy of the constitution and rules of a registered trade union shall be
prominently displayed in the registered office of
such trade union and every
branch office thereof and the secretary of any trade union which fails to
display such a copy shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding two dollars for every day during which such
failure
continues;
(2) A copy of
the constitution and rules of a registered trade union shall be supplied by the
secretary to any member on demand on
payment of the sum of ten
cents.
(Section
amended by 14 of 1969, s. 7.)
Notification of officers, etc.
39.-(1)
A notice giving the names of all officers and their titles shall be prominently
exhibited in the registered office of every
trade union and in every branch
office thereof.
(2) Notice of all
changes of officers shall within fourteen days after such change be sent to the
Registrar on the prescribed form
by the trade union together with the prescribed
fee and the Registrar shall thereupon correct the register
accordingly.
Right of inspection of Registrar's records
40.
Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, any member of the public may
inspect the constitution and rules, and the list of
officers of a trade union at
the office of the Registrar on payment of a fee of twenty-five
cents.
Delegation of powers of trade union
41.
The functions vested by the constitution of a trade union in its officers or
committees shall be exercised only by such officers
and committees of the union
concerned, and shall not be delegated to any other person or
body:
Provided that nothing in
this section shall prohibit the engagement of barristers and solicitors to
represent any trade union in any
matter.
PART VI- AMALGAMATION AND DISSOLUTION
Consent of Registrar required to amalgamation of trade unions
42.
Save with the consent of the Registrar, no registered trade unions shall
amalgamate as one trade union.
Application for consent to amalgamation
43.-(1)
Where two or more registered trade unions desire to amalgamate as one trade
union, an application shall be made to the Registrar
for his consent to the
amalgamation.
(2) Every
application under subsection (1) shall be made in the prescribed form and shall
be signed by the chairman and one other
officer of each trade union and shall be
accompanied by four copies of the proposed rules of the trade union to be formed
by the
intended
amalgamation.
(Amended
by 37 of 1966, s. 97.)
Vote on application for consent to amalgamation
44.
No application under section
43
for the consent of the Registrar to the amalgamation of any registered trade
union shall be made unless in the case of each trade
union desiring
amalgamation-
(a) a secret ballot is taken in the manner prescribed; and
(b) the votes of at least half of the members entitled to vote are cast and recorded; and
(c) of such votes cast and recorded, those in favour of the proposal exceed by one-fifth or more the votes against the proposal.
Grounds for refusal to consent to amalgamation and procedure in such cases
45.-(1)
The Registrar may refuse to give his consent to an intended amalgamation of
registered trade unions where-
(a) any of the provisions of this Act in respect of the making of the application for his consent have not been complied with;
(b) the proposed rules of the trade union to be formed by the amalgamation will not make adequate provision for each and all the matters specified in the Schedule;
(c) any of the purposes of such trade union will be unlawful;
(d) the name by which it is proposed that such trade union will be known is identical with that under which any other trade union, whether existing or not, is or has been registered or so nearly resembles such name as to be likely to deceive the public or the members of such trade union or of any other trade union.
(2)
Where, under subsection (1) or under subsection (2) of section 46, the Registrar
refuses to give his consent to the amalgamation
of any registered trade unions,
he shall, in writing, notify the trade unions for his refusal and shall specify
therein the grounds
for his
refusal.
(3) Any person who
considers that the Registrar was wrong in refusing under subsection (1) to give
his consent to an intended amalgamation
of registered trade unions on the ground
that-
(a) the provisions of this Act in respect of the making of the application for his consent have been complied with;
(b) the proposed rules of the trade union to be formed by the amalgamation would have made adequate provision for each and all of the matters specified in the Schedule; or
(c) none of the purposes of such trade union will be unlawful; or
(d) the name by which it was proposed that such trade union would be known was not such a name as is specified in paragraph (d) of subsection (1),
may,
within fourteen days after the Registrar has given such notice, appeal to the
Supreme Court, and, if upon any such appeal the
Supreme Court finds that the
refusal of the Registrar to give his consent to the intended amalgamation was
wrong as aforesaid, it
may so declare and thereupon the Registrar shall, subject
to the provisions of section
46,
give his consent to the amalgamation, but, save as hereinbefore provided, the
appeal shall be dismissed.
Notice in writing
to be given of consent to
amalgamation,
and saving of powers of
Registrar in relation to registration of trade
union
formed by
amalgamation
46.-(1)
Where the Registrar gives his consent to the amalgamation of any registered
trade unions, he shall send to each of the trade
unions a notice in writing
thereof and shall supply to each of the trade unions such additional copies of
such notice as may be necessary
to enable the trade union to comply with
subsection (1) of section
47.
(2)
The giving by the Registrar of his consent to the amalgamation of any registered
trade unions shall not prejudice or affect in
any way the powers vested in him
by this Act to refuse to register the trade union formed by such amalgamation or
the exercise of
any powers so vested in him in connection with the registration
thereof.
Procedure for amalgamation, etc.
47.-(1)
No registered trade unions shall be amalgamated as one trade union unless the
notice in writing of the consent of the Registrar
to the amalgamation has been
posted at the registered office of each of the trade unions party to the
amalgamation and in every branch
thereof for a period of not less than fourteen
days.
(2) An amalgamation of
registered trade unions may take place with or without any dissolution or
division of the funds of the trade
unions.
Transfer of liabilities, etc., to trade union formed by amalgamation
48.-(1)
All deeds, bonds, agreements and instruments to which any registered trade union
that is amalgamated with any other registered
trade union was a party that are
subsisting at the time of the amalgamation shall be of as full force and effect
against or in favour
of the trade union formed by the amalgamation as if,
instead of such registered trade union, the trade union so formed had been named
therein or had been a party
thereto.
(2) Where, in respect of
any registered trade union that has amalgamated with any other registered trade
union, any proceedings or
cause of action was pending or existed at the time of
the amalgamation, the same may be continued or enforced by or against the trade
union formed by the amalgamation as it might have been continued or enforced by
or against such registered trade union if the amalgamation
had not taken
place.
Notification of dissolution
49.-(1)
When a registered trade union is dissolved, notice of the dissolution thereof,
signed by the secretary of the trade union and
seven persons who were voting
members thereof at the date of the dissolution, shall, within fourteen days
after the dissolution,
be sent to the Registrar by the trade union, and upon the
registration by the Registrar of such dissolution, the trade union shall
cease
to be a body corporate.
(2) A
registered trade union that contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) and
every officer of a registered trade union, or other
person, bound by the rules
thereof to give or send the notice required by that subsection who fails to give
or send the same shall
be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding fifty dollars.
PART VII-APPLICATION OF FUNDS
Use of funds
50.-(1)
The funds of a trade union shall not be applied either directly or indirectly
for any political purpose or be paid or transferred
to any person or body of
persons in furtherance of any political purpose whether within or outside
Fiji.
(2) The funds of a trade
union may, subject to the provisions of this Act, be expended only for the
following objects:-
(a) the payment of salaries, allowances and expenses to officers of the trade union;
(b) the payment of expenses for the administration of the trade union, including audit of the accounts of the funds of the trade union;
(c) the prosecution or defence of any legal proceedings to which the trade union or any member thereof is a party, when such prosecution or defence is undertaken for the purpose of securing or protecting any rights of the trade union as such or any rights arising out of the relations of any member with his employer or with a person whom the member employs;
(d) the conduct of trade disputes on behalf of the trade union or any member thereof;
(e) the compensation of any member for loss arising out of trade disputes;
(f) allowances to members or their dependants on account of death, old age, sickness, accidents or unemployment of such members;
(g) allowances to members in distress through circumstances beyond their control;
(h) social insurance, medical aid, and the supply of medicaments and drugs to members or their dependants, and any incidental expenses thereof;
(i) expenses incurred on trade union business by officers and members of the trade union;
(j) the erection of any building or the purchase or lease of any building or land required for the purposes of the trade union, and for the rent, upkeep and furnishing thereof;
(k) affiliation fees or contributions payable to a trade union federation to which such union is affiliated;
(l) contributions to a charitable, educational or cultural institution or society approved by the Registrar;
(m) contributions or loans, with the approval of the Registrar, to any registered trade union for the purpose of assisting such trade union in financial difficulties;
(Amended by 42 of 1965, s. 8.)
(n) the educational, cultural and vocational training of members as approved by the Registrar, and any incidental expenses thereof;
(o) the organization of any theatrical performance, concert, reception, dance, sports meeting or excursion;
(p) the purchase of books, newspapers and other literature and the upkeep of a reading room for the use of members;
(q) the editing, printing, publication and circulation of any book, newspaper or other periodical, bulletin, pamphlet or other printed literature for the advancement of the lawful objects of the trade union or the promotion of the interests of its members as such;
(r) the payment of interest on loans and the payment of income and other legally imposed taxes;
(s) the provision of social facilities for members;
(t) any other object which, by notification in the Gazette, the Minister may, on the application of any trade union, declare to be an object for which such funds may be expended by such trade union or by any trade union, such expenditure to be subject to such conditions as the Minister may, by the same or any such notification, direct.
(3)
The treasurer or any officer of a trade union failing to comply with the
provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence
and shall be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding one year
or to both such fine and imprisonment and shall
further be liable to refund to the trade union any funds which have been
unlawfully
applied or
expended.
(Inserted
by 14 of 1969, s. 9.)
Prohibition of payment of fines or penalties
51.-(1)
The funds of a trade union shall not be applied either directly or indirectly in
payment of the whole or any part of any fine
or penalty imposed upon any person
by sentence or order of a court of justice, other than a fine or penalty imposed
upon the union
under this Act.
(2)
An injunction restraining any unauthorised or unlawful expenditure of the funds
of a trade union may be granted on the application
of one or more persons having
a sufficient interest in the relief sought, or of the Registrar.
Books of account, etc. to be kept at registered office
52.-(1)
The officers of every registered trade union shall cause to be kept such books
of account as may be prescribed which books of
account, as also the minute book
of the trade union, shall be kept at the registered office except during the
audit of the accounts
of such trade union or with the written permission of the
Registrar:
Provided that the
Registrar may, in his discretion and upon application being made to him in that
behalf by any trade union, grant
permission in writing to such trade union to
keep its accounts and records in a form or according to a system other than that
prescribed,
if he is of the opinion that the form or system adopted by such
trade union is adequate and satisfactory in all the
circumstances.
(2) If any trade union fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1), the secretary or the treasurer, whoever may be responsible, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(Section
substituted by 14 of 1969, s. 10)
Safeguarding of union funds and property
53.-(1)
Every treasurer of a trade union and every other officer thereof who is
responsible for the accounts of the trade union or for
the collection,
disbursement, custody or control of the funds or moneys thereof, shall, upon
resigning or vacating his office and
at least once in every year, at such time
as may be specified by the constitution and rules of the trade union and at any
other times
at which he may be required to do so by a resolution of the
executive committee or a general meeting of the trade union or by the
constitution and rules thereof or by the Registrar, render to the trade union
and its members or the Registrar, as the case may be,
a just and true account of
all moneys received and paid by him during the period which has elapsed since
the date of his assuming
office, or if he has previously rendered an account,
since the last date upon which he rendered such account, and of the balance
remaining in his hands at the time of rendering such account and of all bonds,
securities, or other property of the trade union entrusted
to his custody or
under his control.
(2) The form of
account may be prescribed.
(3) The
trade union shall cause the account to be audited by some fit and proper person
approved by the Registrar.
(4) The
treasurer or the officer referred to in subsection (1) shall, if he is resigning
or vacating his office or if required by
the Registrar to do so, forthwith hand
over to the trade union such balance of money as appears to be due from him, and
all bonds,
securities, effects, books, papers, and property of the trade union
in his hands, or custody or otherwise under his
control.
(5) Notwithstanding any
other provisions of this section, any officer or member of a trade union shall,
upon resigning or vacating
his office or membership, or at such time as may be
specified by the constitution and rules of the trade union, and at any other
times at which he may be required to do so by a resolution of the executive
committee or a general meeting of the trade union or
by the Registrar, forthwith
hand over to the trade union all bonds, securities, effects, books, papers and
property of the trade
union in his hands or custody or otherwise under his
control.
(6) Where any money or
thing is directed to be handed over to a trade union under the provisions of
subsections (4) or (5), such money
or thing may be handed to such person as may
be specified in any resolution of the executive committee or general meeting or
by the
constitution and rules thereof or as may be ordered by the
Registrar.
Annual returns
54.-(1)
The secretary of every registered trade union shall furnish annually to the
Registrar on or before the 30th day of April in
every year a general statement
audited in the prescribed manner of all receipts and expenditure during the
period of twelve months
ending on the 31st day of December of the preceding
year, and of the assets and liabilities of the trade union as at such 31st day
of December. The statement shall be accompanied by a copy of the auditor's
report and shall be prepared in such form and shall comprise
such particulars as
may be prescribed.
(2) Together
with the general statement referred to in subsection (1), the secretary of each
trade union shall furnish to the Registrar
a list of officers of the trade union
together with four copies of all alterations of the constitution and rules and
of all new rules
made by the trade union during period of twelve months
preceding the said 31st day of December, and four copies of the constitution
and
rules of the trade union in force on that
day.
(Substituted
by 42 of 1965, s. 9.)
(3) Every
member of a trade union to which this section applies shall be entitled to
receive free of charge a copy of the general
statement referred to in subsection
(1) and the secretary of each such trade union shall supply a copy of such
statement to every
member of his union at or before the annual general meeting
and thereafter on application within one month of the receipt of such
application.
(4) The secretary of
any trade union to which this section applies who fails to comply with any of
the requirements of this section
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars and in the case
of a
continuing offence to a further fine of two dollars for every day during
which such failure continues after
conviction.
(Substituted
by 14 of 1969, s. 11.)
(5) Every
person who wilfully and knowingly makes or orders or causes or procures to be
made any false entry in or omission from any
general statement, copy or list
delivered to the Registrar under subsections (1) and (2) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall
be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three
years.
Inspection of accounts and documents
55.-(1)
The account books, receipt books and receipts for expenditure of a trade union
and a list of the members thereof shall be open
to inspection by any officer or
member of the trade union at such times as may be provided for in the rules of
the trade union.
(2) The minutes
relating to financial matters, the list of members, account books, receipt
books, receipts for expenditure, cheque
books, pay-in slips and all other
vouchers and documents relating to the accounts of the trade union shall be open
to inspection
by the Registrar or any person authorised in writing by the
Registrar in that behalf at any reasonable
time:
Provided that an officer of
the trade union may, if he so requests, be present when such inspection is
made.
(Inserted by
14 of 1969, s. 12.)
Obstructing inspection by Registrar
56.
Any person who opposes, obstructs or impedes the Registrar or any person
authorised by him under section 55, in the carrying out
of an inspection under
the provisions of that section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable
to a fine not exceeding fifty
dollars or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Power to call for detailed accounts
57.
(1) In addition to any other provisions of this Act relating to the rendering of
accounts, the Registrar may, at any time, call
upon the treasurer, the executive
committee or other proper officer or officers of a trade union to render within
seven days of the
call being made in writing detailed accounts, vouched in such
manner as he may require, of the funds of the trade union or any branch
thereof
in respect of any particular period, and such accounts shall show in particular
such information as the Registrar may
require.
(2) Any officer of a
trade union who fails to comply with a request made by the Registrar under the
provisions of subsection (1) shall
be guilty of an offence and shall be liable
to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six
months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
PART VIII-CONSPIRACY AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Conspiracy in trade disputes
58.-(1)
An agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or procure to be done
any act in contemplation or furtherance of a
trade dispute shall not be
punishable as a conspiracy if such act committed by one person would not be
punishable as a crime.
(2) An act
done in pursuance of an agreement or combination by two or more persons shall,
if done in contemplation or furtherance
of a trade dispute, not be actionable
unless the act, if done without any such agreement or combination, would be
actionable.
(3) Nothing in this
section shall exempt from punishment any person guilty of a conspiracy for which
a punishment is imposed by any
Act.
(4) Nothing in this section
shall affect the law relating to riot, unlawful assembly, breach of the peace,
or sedition, or any offence
against Her Majesty or the Government of Fiji as by
law established.
(5) A crime for
the purposes of this section means an offence for the commission of which the
offender is liable to be imprisoned
either absolutely or at the discretion of
the court as an alternative for some other punishment.
Freedom of association of employees
59.-(1)
No employer shall make it a condition of employment of any employee that the
employee shall not be nor become a member of a
trade union and any such
condition in any contract of employment entered into before or after the
commencement of this Act shall
be
void.
(2) Nothing contained in any
Act shall prohibit any employee from being or becoming a member of a trade union
or subject him to any
penalty by reason of his membership of any registered
trade union.
(3) Any employer who
contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and
shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding two hundred dollars or to imprisonment
for a period not exceeding twelve months.
PART IX-REGULATIONS
Regulations
60.-(1)
The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of carrying out or giving
effect to the provisions of this
Act.
(2) In particular and without
prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), the
Minister may make regulations
for or in respect of all or any of the following
matters:-
(a) all matters stated or required in this Act to be prescribed;
(b) the books and registers to be kept for the purposes of this Act and the forms thereof;
(c) the manner in which trade unions and the constitution and rules of trade unions shall be registered and the fees payable on registration;
(d) the manner in which, and the qualifications of persons by whom, the accounts of registered trade unions or of any class of such trade unions shall be audited;
(e) the conditions subject to which inspection of documents kept by the Registrar shall be allowed;
(f) the due disposal and safe custody of the funds and moneys of a trade union;
(g) the creation, administration, protection, control and disposal of the funds of registered trade unions and all matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;
(h) generally for all matters incidental to or connected with the matters or subjects specifically mentioned in this subsection.
(3)
The Minister may by regulation declare that any regulations made under
subsection (2) shall apply to a specific trade union only,
or that any
particular trade union or class of trade unions shall be exempted from the
operation of such regulations.
PART X-OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
Penalty for misuse of money or property of a trade union
61.-(1)
Where on complaint, made by a member of a trade union or the Registrar, it is
shown to the satisfaction of a court that any
person has in his possession or
control any property of the trade union except in accordance with the
constitution and rules of the
trade union, or has unlawfully expended or
withheld any money of the trade union, the court shall, if it considers the
justice of
the case so requires, order such person to deliver all such property
to the trade union and to pay to it the money so unlawfully
expended or
withheld.
(2) A complaint made
under subsection (1) shall not be entertained, when the complainant is some
other person than the Registrar,
unless the court is satisfied that the
complainant is or was, on the date of the complaint, a member of the trade union
in respect
of whose property such complaint was
made.
(3) Any person bound by an
order made under subsection (1) who fails to comply with the terms thereof and
the directions given therein
within a time to be specified in such order shall
be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred
dollars and if the offence is a continuing one to a fine not exceeding two
dollars per day during which such offence continues.
Penalty for failure to give notice or produce document
62.
A trade union which or officer thereof who, fails to give any notice, or to send
or to produce any document which it or he is required
by this Act or any
regulations made thereunder, to give, send or produce, and every officer or
other person bound by the rules of
the trade union to give, send or produce the
same, or, if there is no such officer, then every member of the executive
committee
of the trade union, unless such officer, person or member shall prove
that he was ignorant of, or that he attempted to prevent, the
omission to give,
send or produce the same, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding
one hundred dollars unless some other
punishment is provided for such offence by this
Act.
(Amended by
14 of 1969, s. 13.)
Limitation of prosecutions
63.
No prosecution shall be instituted under Part VIII except by, or at the instance
of, or with the written consent of, the Director
of Public
Prosecutions.
(Amended
by Order 4th November, 1970).
Jurisdiction
64.
All offences and penalties under this Act may be prosecuted and recovered before
a resident magistrate.
PART XI-MISCELLANEOUS
Nomination
65.-(1)
A member of a trade union not being under the age of sixteen years may, by
writing under his hand, delivered at, or sent to,
the principal office of the
trade union, nominate a person not being an officer or servant of the trade
union (unless such officer
or servant is the husband, wife, father, mother,
child, brother, sister, nephew or niece of the nominator), to whom any moneys
payable
(not exceeding four hundred dollars) on the death of such member shall
be paid at his decease, and may from time to time revoke or
vary such nomination
by a writing under his hand similarly delivered or sent; and on receiving
satisfactory proof of the death of
a nominator, the trade union shall pay to the
nominee any benefits under its constitution and rules due to the deceased
member.
(2) Any instrument
required to be made to carry out the provisions of subsection (1) shall be
exempt from stamp duty.
Service of notice, etc.
66.
Every summons, notice or other document required to be served on a trade union
shall be deemed to be duly served if it is delivered
at the registered office of
the trade union or if it is served personally on any two officers from among he
president, the treasurer
and the secretary of the trade
union.
(Substituted
by 14 of 1969, s. 14.)
Notification in the Gazette
67.
The Registrar shall notify the following matters in the Gazette within
twenty-eight days of the performance thereof:-
(a) that a trade union has applied for registration;
(b) that any trade union has been registered or that registration has been refused;
(c) that the registration of any registered trade union has been cancelled or suspended;
(d) that a change of name or amalgamation affecting any registered trade union has been registered;
(e) that any registered trade union has been dissolved; and
(f) that a trade union has applied to amend its constitution so as to enlarge the class of employees authorised to be members thereof.
Provisions of certain Acts not to apply to trade unions
68.-(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the following Acts:-
(a) the Co-operative Societies Act; and (Cap. 250.)
(b) the Companies Act; and (Cap. 247.)
(c) the Industrial Associations Act, (Cap. 79.)
shall
not apply to a trade union and the registration of a trade union under any of
the said Acts shall be void and of no
effect.
(2) If a trade union is
registered under any of the said Acts and the same shall become registered under
this Act, all of the property
and assets of whatsoever description vested in the
trade union by virtue of registration under the said Acts together with all
rights
and liabilities, whether present, future, certain or contingent, shall
forthwith be deemed vested in the trade union by virtue of
its registration
under this Act and all causes of action subsisting, or suits or other legal
proceedings pending, by or against the
trade union by reason of or arising out
of its registration under the said Act shall subsist or be continued by or
against such trade
union by virtue of its registration under this
Act.
(3) If any unincorporated
association, being a trade union within the meaning of this Act, shall become
registered thereunder, all
of the property, and assets of whatsoever description
belonging to the members of such association by virtue of membership thereof
or
vested in trustees for the members of such association shall become vested in
the registered trade union upon registration together
with all rights and
liabilities, whether present, future, certain or contingent, and all causes of
action subsisting, or suits or
other legal proceedings pending, by or against
any trustees for the members of such association or any officer or member on
behalf
of himself and all other members of such association shall subsist or
continue by or against such registered trade union in the name
under which it is
registered.
_______
SCHEDULE
(Section
37)
MATTERS
FOR WHICH PROVISION MUST BE MADE IN THE RULES
OF
EVERY TRADE UNION
1. The name of the trade
union and the address of its registered
office.
*2. A list of the officers
in the trade union and the functions of the holders of such offices specifying
officers of the trade union
empowered to operate bank
accounts.
*
Amended by 14 of 1969, s. 16.
3.
The whole of the objects for which the trade union is to be established, the
purposes for which the funds thereof shall be applicable,
the conditions under
which any member thereof may become entitled to any benefit assured thereby, and
the fines and forfeitures to
be imposed on any member
thereof.
4. The persons eligible
for membership of the trade
union.
5. The manner of making,
altering, and rescinding rules.
6.
The keeping of a register of members of the trade
union.
7. The maintenance of
discipline within the trade union, including provision for appeal to the voting
members at a general meeting
of the trade union against any decision of the
executive committee cancelling the membership of any member or dismissing any
officer.
8. The appointment or
election and removal of an executive committee and secretaries, treasurers, and
other officers of the trade
union.
9. The method of convening
and conducting annual general meetings and extraordinary general meetings, and
the matters to be presented
to the members of the trade union at such meetings,
including in the case of annual general meetings the presentation of audited
accounts.
10. The custody and
investment of the funds of the trade union, the designation of the officer or
officers responsible therefore,
and the annual or periodical audit of its
accounts.
11. The inspection of
the books and names of members of the trade union by any person having an
interest in the funds of the trade
union.
12. The manner of the
dissolution of the trade union and the disposal of the funds thereof available
at the time of such
dissolution.
13. The taking of
decisions by voting members of the trade union by secret ballot on the following
matters:-
(a) the election of officers of the union;
(b) the alteration of the rules of the union;
(c) all matters relating to strikes and lockouts;
(d) dissolution of the union;
(e) the amalgamation of the trade union with any other trade union;
(f) the federation of the trade union with any other trade union or with a trade union federation;
(g) imposition of levies.
14.
The right of any member, who is not disqualified from voting, to a reasonable
opportunity to vote.
15. The
amount of subscription and fees payable by members and the disqualifications of
a member from voting on any matter concerning
the trade union and from receiving
benefits if his subscription is more than thirteen weeks in
arrears.
16. If honorary members
are to be permitted, the conditions under which a person may become an honorary
member.
17. Provision for keeping
in a separate fund all moneys received or paid by the trade union in respect of
any contributory provident
fund or pensions fund
scheme.
18. The constitution of
the trade union, in so far as any part of it is not contained in the foregoing
paragraphs.
19. Provision whereby
members of a trade union shall cease to be members of such trade union if their
subscriptions are more than
twelve months in
arrears.
20. Provision whereby a
member of a trade union becomes a voting
member.
21. A requirement that at
any meeting of the union or branch thereof a quorum shall consist of at least 20
per cent of the voting
members of the union or branch as the case may
be.
22. A requirement that at any
meeting of the executive committee of a trade union or branch thereof a quorum
shall consist of not
less than 33'A per cent of the members of the executive
committee where the total number of such executive committee consists of
21
persons or more, and of not less than 50 per cent of the members of the
executive committee where the total number of such executive
committee consists
of 20 persons or less, but that in any case the quorum shall not consist of
fewer than five persons.
Controlled by Ministry for Labour, Industrial Relations and Immigration
________________________
CHAPTER
96
TRADE
UNIONS
SECTION 3-APPOINTMENT OF REGISTRAR
Notices 20th Oct. 1964, 23rd June, 1971
The Administrator-General
has been appointed as Registrar of Trade Unions.
SECTION 60-TRADE UNIONS REGULATIONS
Regulations
31st Aug., 1964. [in force 1st Nov.,
1964],
27th Sept.,
1965, 18th June, 1969, 16th May, 1975, 18th Aug., 1977
Made by the Governor in Council
Short title
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Trade Unions Regulations.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations, the expression "the Act" means the Trade Unions Act.
Form of register, certificates, applications and notices
3.-(1)
Every register, certificate, order, application and notice under the Act shall
be kept, issued, made or given in the appropriate
form set out in the First
Schedule.
(2) The number of copies
to be submitted of any such application or notice, if more than one, shall be
stated in the form of such
application or notice set out in the First
Schedule.
(3) Any authority or
person having power to issue any certificate under the Act shall, on it being
proved to his satisfaction that
such certificate has been lost or destroyed and
on payment of the prescribed fee, issue a duplicate of the certificate to the
person
entitled thereto.
Register of trade unions
4.
The particulars to be recorded in the register shall be those specified in Form
A of the First Schedule.
Manner of registering trade union and change of name
5.-(1) The manner of
registering a trade union shall be by entering in the register the name of the
trade union, the situation and
postal address of its registered office, the
titles and names of its officers, and the date of the
registration.
(2) The manner of
registering a change of name of a trade union shall be by deleting the name
under which such trade union has been
registered in the register and by
substituting therefor the new name of the trade union.
Inspection and copies
6.-(1) The constitution
and rules and list of officers shall be available for inspection by the public,
during the hours in which
the office of the Registrar is open to the public,
upon payment of the prescribed
fee.
(2) Copies or extracts of any
document referred to in this regulation may be obtained by any person upon
payment of the prescribed
fees.
Annual returns
7.-(1) The general
statement referred to in subsection (1) of section
54
of the Act shall be furnished to the Registrar on or before the thirtieth day of
April in each year.
(2) The said
general statement shall be in the form of and comprise the particulars specified
in the Second Schedule, and shall be
audited in the manner shown in the form of
Auditor's Report contained in the said Schedule.
Amalgamation of trade union
8. A registered trade
union, when proposing to amalgamate with one or more other trade unions in the
manner provided by Part VI of
the Act, shall take steps fully to inform, in a
suitable manner, all members concerned as to-
(a) the reasons for the proposed amalgamation;
(b) the proposed conditions under which such amalgamation will take place; and
(c) the time and place at which the secret ballot will be held.
Notice of amalgamation
9. A notice, giving the
particulars specified in regulation 8, shall be posted in the registered office
of the trade union and in
every branch office thereof at least two weeks before
the secret ballot is held and shall remain so posted until the secret ballot
has
been concluded.
Secret ballot
10. The procedure to be
followed in taking the secret ballot shall be as follows:-
(a) the ballot shall be conducted jointly by an officer of the trade union and a representative chosen by the members;
(b) the person responsible for conducting the ballot shall be furnished with-
(i) a written record of the names of the members entitled to vote thereat;
(ii) an adequate supply of ballot papers in the form prescribed in the Third Schedule; and
(iii) a suitable ballot box fitted with lock and key;
(c) arrangements shall be made to enable each member concerned, at places adjacent to the ballot box, to obtain a ballot paper and to mark it, screened from observation, before depositing it in the box;
(d) the name of each member to whom a ballot paper is handed shall be marked off on the record of names of members concerned by the person handing out the ballot papers;
(e) the member shall, after marking the paper, fold it so as to cover the marking and deposit it in the ballot box;
(f) the ballot papers shall be examined and the votes shall be counted by the persons conducting the ballot and certificates of the result of the ballot, in the form prescribed in the Third Schedule, shall be signed jointly by them. A signed copy of the certificate shall-
(i) be posted in the registered office of the trade union and in every branch office thereof for a period of not less than one week after the conclusion of the secret ballot;
(ii) be attached to the notice of amalgamation sent to the Registrar in pursuance of subsection (1) of section 43 of the Act, which said notice shall be in Form J of the First Schedule.
Notice of change of rules
11. Whenever a trade union
shall change its rules, notice of such change in Form L of the First Schedule,
signed by the secretary
and by seven members of the trade union authorised in
that behalf by resolution passed at a general meeting of the trade union, shall
be sent to the Registrar within fourteen days of such change, and shall be
accompanied by an extract from the minutes of the meeting
relating to such
change of rules, certified as a true copy by the chairman of the
meeting.
Fees
12. The fees set out in
the Fourth Schedule shall be payable to the Registrar in respect of the several
matters specified therein.
Trade union to keep register of members
13.-(1) Every registered
trade union shall keep a register of its members, in which shall be
entered-
(a) the name, address and occupation of each member;
(b) the date on which each member was admitted to membership;
(c) the payments made by each member in respect of entrance fee, subscriptions or any other payments provided for under the constitution and the dates of such payments; and
(d) the date on which any member ceases to be a member.
__________________________-
*FIRST SCHEDULE
FORM A
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Regulation 4)
FORM OF REGISTER TO BE KEPT BY REGISTRAR
Registry
No...........
Registered Name of Trade
Union
.......................................................................
Situation
of Registered Office.
Postal
Address of Registered Office.
FORM B
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 8)
APPLICATION FOR THE REGISTRATION OF A TRADE UNION
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
1.
We, the several persons whose names are subscribed below, hereby make
application for the registration under the Trade Unions Act, of a trade union to
be known as:-
2.- (i) The
situation of the registered office of the trade union is at:-
(ii) The registered postal address of the trade union is:-
(iii) The aforesaid trade union was formed on the ............. day of ..........., 19.....
(iv) We enclose herewith:-
(a) Four copies of the rules of the trade union authenticated by the president and the secretary.
(b) Statement I showing the names, addresses and occupations of the members making this application.
(c) Statement II showing the titles, names, ages, addresses and occupations of the officers of the trade union.
3.
We have been duly authorised by the trade union to make this application on its
behalf by a General Meeting held at
...............................................................................on
the .......................... day of..........
19.....
A certified copy of the
relevant extract from the minutes of the General Meeting is
attached.
.................................................
day of
..........19.....
1.................................
5.................................
2.................................
6.................................
3.................................
7.................................
4.................................
8.................................
Note.-This
application must be signed by at least seven members of the body applying for
registration in the case of a combination
of employees.
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 8)
STATEMENT I
NAMES
OF PERSONS MAKING APPLICATION FOR
THE
REGISTRATION OF A TRADE
UNION
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
........................
Secretary.
STATEMENT II
NAMES OF OFFICERS OF THE TRADE UNION
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
Name
of Trade Union
1. None of the
persons mentioned in Statement II is an officer of any other trade
union.
2. All the officers with
the exception of ................................. who is the secretary; and
..................................
who is the treasurer have been and still are
engaged, or occupied for a period of not less than one year in an industry,
trade or
occupation with which the union is directly
concerned.
3. The educational
standards of the person(s) named as assuming the office(s) of secretary and
treasurer are as follows:-
4.
"officer" includes any member of the Executive Committee and any
officer
of a branch.
FORM C
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 10)
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION
Registry
No.........
It is hereby certified
that the ........................................... has been registered under
the Trade Unions Act.
Dated this
.......... day of ............
19.....
................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
FORM D
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 13)
NOTIFICATION OF REFUSAL OF REGISTRATION
It is hereby notified that
registration of the
.................................................................... as a trade
union
under the Trade Unions Act, is refused. The grounds of such refusal are as
follows:-
Dated this
....................... day of ..........................
19.......
................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
Note.-Upon receipt
of this notice, reference should be made to section 13 of the Trade Unions Act;
subsection (2) of that section sets out the provisions which have effect upon
the refusal of the Registrar to register a trade union.
FORM E
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 14)
NOTICE
OF INTENTION TO CANCEL
REGISTRATION OF
A TRADE UNION
To:
I
hereby give you notice pursuant to section 14 of the Trade Unions Act, that on
expiry of two months from the date hereof I propose to cancel registration of
the ..........................................................
as a trade union
under the said Act unless, before the expiration of such period, cause is shown
to my satisfaction why such registration
should not be cancelled. The grounds on
which I propose to cancel the registration
are-
Dated
this.........................day of...............................
19..........
................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
FORM F
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 14)
ORDER OF CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION
It is hereby ordered that
registration of the
................................................................... as a trade
union
under the Trade Unions Act, be and is this day cancelled. The grounds of
such cancellation are as
follows:-
Dated
this........................day of...........................
19.......
................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
Note.-Upon service
of this order, reference should be made to section 18 of the Trade Unions Act,
which sets out the provisions which have effect upon cancellation of
registration of a trade union.
FORM G
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 14)
NOTICE
OF INTENTION TO SUSPEND
REGISTRATION
OF A TRADE
UNION
I hereby give you notice
pursuant to section 14 of the Trade Unions Act, that on expiry of one month from
the date hereof I propose to suspend registration of the
..................................................................................................................
as a trade union under the said Act unless, before the expiration of such
period, cause is shown to my satisfaction why such registration
should not be
suspended. The grounds on which I propose to suspend registration
are-
Dated
this........................day of............................... 19
........
...............................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
FORM H
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 14)
ORDER OF SUSPENSION OF REGISTRATION
It is hereby ordered that
registration of the
............................................................... as a trade union
under
the Trade Unions Act, be and is this day suspended. The grounds of such
suspension are as
follows:-
Dated this
...........day of.............
19.....
................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
Note.-Upon service
of this order, reference should be made to section 15 of the Trade Unions Act,
which sets out the provisions which have effect upon suspension of registration
of a trade union.
FORM I
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 34)
NOTICE OF CHANGE OF NAME
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
1.
We, the several persons whose names are subscribed below being the secretary and
seven members of the trade union registered under
the name of the
.................... hereby give you notice pursuant to section 34 of the Trade
Unions Act, that it is proposed to change the name of the aforesaid trade union
to the
.....................................................................
2.
The proposed change of name has the consent of not less than two-thirds of the
total number of voting members of the trade union,
such consent having been
obtained by secret ballot taken in accordance with the rules of the trade union
on the .......... day of
.............
19.....
Dated this............ day
of ...............
19.....
(Signed)....................
Secretary
1.
.............................
2.
.............................
3.
.............................
4.
..................................... \
Members
5.
.............................
6.
.............................
7.
.............................
Note.-(a)
A trade union may not change its name without the consent of at least two-thirds
of the total number of its voting members,
and such consent must be obtained by
secret ballot conducted in accordance with the rules of the
union.
(b) This notice must be signed
by the secretary and by seven members of the trade
union.
(c) The change of name will not
have effect until registered by the
Registrar.
(b) This notice
must be signed by the chairman and seven members, at least one of whom must be
an officer of each trade union which
is party to the
amalgamation.
(c) The amalgamation
will not have effect until the Registrar has registered the trade union formed
thereby in the prescribed manner.
*
State title of officer.
FORM J
NOTICE
OF CHANGE OF SITUATION OF REGISTERED OFFICE OR
OF
POSTAL ADDRESS
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
The*
.........................................................................................
hereby gives you notice that-
t(a) the situation of the registered office of the aforesaid trade union has been changed from
t(b) the postal address of the aforesaid trade union has been changed from
Dated
this...............day of................
19.......
(Signed)
..............................
Secretary
*
Enter name of Trade Union.
t Delete
whichever is
inapplicable.
Note.-(a) It is an
offence, under section 36 of the Trade Unions Act, for any trade
union-
(i) to operate at any place to which its registered office may have been removed without having given notice of the change in the situation thereof to the Registrar; and
(ii) to fail to give notice of any change of its postal address.
(b)
This notice should be signed by the secretary of the trade union
*FORM L
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section
37)
TRADE
UNIONS REGULATIONS
(Regulation
II)
NOTICE OF ALTERATION OF RULES
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
1.
We, the several persons whose names are subscribed below being the secretary and
seven members of the trade union registered under
the name of the
................................................ hereby give you notice of
alteration of the rules of the aforesaid
trade
union.
2. With this application
are sent-
(a) a copy of the registered rules of the union, marked to show where and in what way they are altered;
(b) a copy, marked A, of the alteration(s), signed by the person giving this notice;
(c) a copy of the relevant extract from the minutes of the meeting at which the alteration(s) was/were made, certified as true by the chairman of that meeting.
3.
We have been duly authorised by the trade union to give this notice on its
behalf, such authorisation consisting of a resolution
passed at a general
meeting of the trade union on the
.................................................................................................
day
of.....................
19.......
Dated this ......... day
of .....................
19.......
(Signed)
.............................
Secretary
1.
................ 5.
........................
2.
...................... 6.
........................
3.
................ 7.
........................
4.
..................... \- Members
CERTIFICATE
OF REGISTRY
(For Official
Use)
It is hereby certified
that the foregoing alteration(s) of the rules of the
................................................ has/have
this day been
registered pursuant to section 37 of the Trade Unions
Act.
Dated this ............day
of.....................
19.......
(Signed)
.......................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
Note.-(a) Four
copies of this notice (with enclosures) must be sent to the Registrar within
fourteen days of any alteration of rules
or of the making of any new
rule.
(b) This notice must be
accompanied by the prescribed registration
fee.
(c) Alterations in the rules of a
trade union have effect from the date of registration thereof by the Registrar
unless some later
date is specified in the
rules.
* Amended by Regulations
18th June, 1969.
FORM M
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 39)
LIST OF OFFICERS
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
(a)
Insert name of union and branch (if
applicable
Particulars of officers
of the (a)
......................................................
I
certify that-
(a) None of the
persons assuming office is an officer of any other trade
union.
(b) All the officers with
the exception of .................... who is the Secretary* and
................... who is the Treasurer,*
have been and still are engaged or
occupied for a period of not less than one year in an industry, trade or
occupation with which
the union is directly concerned and ................. who
is the President continues to hold office under the provisions of paragraph
(c)
of subsection (1) of section 31 of the Trade Unions
Act.
(c) None of the officers has
been convicted of any crime involving fraud, dishonesty or extortion during the
past five years.
(c) The educational
standards of persons named in column overleaf on assuming the office of
secretary/treasurer are as
follows:-
Dated this
....................... day of ..........................
19.....
.................................
Secretary
Note.-Notice
of all changes must be sent to the registrar within fourteen
days.
* Delete as
necessary.
+ Substituted by Regulation
18th June, 1969
(b) Give names of all
officers of the union or branch as
applicable
(c) Delete if no change in
these offices
FORM N
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 49)
TRADE UNION NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION
To: The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
Notice
is hereby given that the *........................... was dissolved in pursuance
of the rules thereof on the............. day
.............
19.....
Dated this ............
day of .............
19.....
(Signed)...................
Secretary.
1
......................
2
......................
3
......................
4............................
\ Members
5
......................
6
......................
7
......................
Name and
address to which registered copy is to be returned.
CERTIFICATE
OF REGISTRY
(For Official
Use)
It is hereby certified
that the dissolution of the
*............................................................... has this day
been
registered pursuant to section 49 of the Trade Unions
Act.
Dated this .............day
of .............
19.....
................................
Registrar
of Trade Unions
*Enter name of
Trade Union
Note.-(a) Two copies
of this notice, signed by the secretary and by seven members of the trade union,
must be sent to the Registrar
within fourteen days of the
dissolution.
(b) The dissolution of a
trade union has effect from the date of its registration by the
Registrar.
________________________
SECOND SCHEDULE
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 54)
TRADE
UNIONS REGULATIONS
(Regulation
7)
ANNUAL RETURN
Amended by Regulations 18th June, 1969.
Annual return of
the*
for the year ended 31st
December, 19. .. ..
PARTICULARS OF
THE TRADE UNION
1. Situation of
registered office
....................................................................
2.
Postal address
.....................................................................................
3.
Has the trade union any branches? If so, state situation of, and number of
members, in each branch
..................................................
4.
In what trade or calling are the members of the union chiefly employed?
......................
5. Total
number of voting members at 31st December, 19
.....
*Name of Trade
Union
PARTICULARS OF THE OFFICERS
AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF
THE TRADE
UNION AS AT 31st DECEMBER. 19. . .
.
Title of
officer
Name (in
full)
Date of
appointment
It is hereby certified
as follows:-
(i) none of the above-mentioned officers has been convicted of any crime involving fraud or dishonesty during the past five years;
(ii) none of the above-mentioned officers is an officer of any other trade union;
(iii) all the above-mentioned officers (except the Secretary and....................) are actually engaged in the industry or occupation of ........... with which this trade union is directly concerned, the said .................... having become office bearers on the ............. day of ............. 19..., with the permission of the Registrar pursuant to section 31 (1) of the Act.
INCOME
AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31st
DECEMBER, 19....
BALANCE SHEET AS
AT 31st DECEMBER, 19........
We,
the undersigned, hereby certify that the information contained in the Annual
Report of the Union is true and correct and is in
accordance with
law.
Signature of President
................ Address
..........................
Signature
of Treasurer ................ Address
..........................
Signature
of Secretary ................ Address
.........................
AUDITORS'
REPORT
The undersigned, having had
access to all the books and accounts of the trade union (including its
branches), and having examined
the foregoing Annual Return and verified the same
with the accounts and vouchers relating thereto, now sign the same as found to
be correct, duly vouched, and in accordance with
law.
Signature of First Auditor:
.......................
Address
.............................................
Calling
or Profession
..............................
Signature
of Second Auditor
.....................
Address
.............................................................
Calling
or Profession
...............................
Date
of completion of audit
..............................
Dated
this ........ day of ..................,
19........
(Signed)
..........................
Secretary
To:
The Registrar of Trade
Unions,
Suva.
Note.-
(a)
This return is required to be furnished to the Registrar by the secretary of
every registered trade union on or before the thirtieth
day of April of the year
immediately following that in respect of which the return is
rendered.
(b) This return should be
accompanied by-
(i) four copies (marked A) of the rules of the trade union in force at the end of the year;
(ii) four copies (marked B) of all alterations and amendments of rules and of all new rules, made during the year; and
(iii) a list (marked C) of all changes of officers made during that year.
______________________
THIRD SCHEDULE
TRADE
UNIONS ACT
(Section 44)
TRADE
UNIONS REGULATIONS
(Regulation
10)
(i) FORM OF BALLOT PAPER
Record your vote by X in
column 2. Serial No.........
Do not
sign your name.
Column I
Column 2
For
Amalgamation.......................................................
Against
Amalgamation ...............................................
(ii) FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF RESULT OF BALLOT
Name of trade
union..................................................
Situation
and postal address of registered
office...........................
requirements
of the above-mentioned Regulations on the question of the amalgamation of the
said trade union with the registered trade
union(s) named
hereunder-
and that the result
was-
Number of papers in ballot
box................................
Number
voting in favour of the amalgamation
...................
Number voting
against amalgamation
..........................
Number of
spoilt
papers......................................
The
total number of members entitled to vote was
..............
Signed
1.....................................
2.....................................
Dated
this .......... day of ...........
19.....
Note.-A signed copy of
this certificate must be posted in the registered office of the trade union and
in every branch office thereof.
A further signed copy must accompany the notice
of amalgamation which is required to be sent to the Registrar under the
provisions
of subsection (1) of section 43 of the Trade Unions
Act.
FOURTH
SCHEDULE
(Regulation 12)
(Substituted by Regulations 16th May, 1975)
FEES
The following fees shall
be payable to the Registrar:- ..............$ c
(a) on application to register a trade union .................................. 10-00
(b) on application to register new rules or alteration of rules. . . . 5-00
(c) on application to register a change of officers or of the
titles of officers .................................................................... 0-50
(d) on application to register a change of name of trade union ... 3-00
(e) on application to register a trade union formed by the
amalgamation of two or more registered trade unions. . . .......... 4-00
(f) for a copy of a certificate of registration or for an
authentication not otherwise provided for...................................... 1-00
(g) for any inspection under regulation 6(1) relating to any one
trade union...................................................................................... 0-50
(h) for a copy of, or extract from, any document available for
inspection under regulation 6(1)-
for the first folio of 100 words or part thereof .............................. 1-00
for every folio of 100 words or part thereof thereafter ............. 0-40
(i) for certification of any document or extract provided for
above.............................................................................................. 0-50
(j) on application to register a document not otherwise provided
for................................................................................................... 1-00
_____________________
SECTION 63.-TRADE UNIONS (ACCOUNTS) REGULATIONS
Regulations
11th Jan.,
1965.
[in force
15th Jan., 1965].
Made by the Governor in Council
Short title
1. These Regulations may
be cited as the Trade Unions (Accounts) Regulations.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations,
"treasurer" includes any person for the time being acting as a
treasurer.
Receipts to be issued by collectors
3.-(1) Every person who
collects or receives subscriptions, entrance fees, donations or other
contributions for or on behalf of a
trade union (such person being hereinafter
referred to as a collector), shall issue to any person making payments to him, a
receipt
in form P in the Schedule, such receipt being taken from a book of
printed receipt forms, the forms being each in duplicate and numbered
serially:
(Form
P.)
Provided that an employer
shall not be required to issue a receipt to his employee for any money collected
by him on behalf of a trade
union.
(2) The collector shall,
when issuing a receipt, ensure that the particulars entered on the receipt form
are legibly duplicated by
carbon copy on the printed duplicate thereof, and
shall preserve in the book the printed duplicate of every receipt
issued.
(3) The collector (other
than a treasurer) shall hand over or remit to the treasurer of his trade union,
or of his branch of the trade
union, at intervals of not more than two weeks,
all moneys which he has collected on behalf of the trade union, together with
all
used receipt books in his possession relating to such moneys and shall
produce for inspection all receipt books, in his possession,
which have not been
completely used.
(4) Every
collector shall issue receipts from receipt books issued to him in proper
sequence in accordance with their serial
numbering.
(5) Any person
collecting money for a trade union who contravenes or fails to comply with any
of the provisions of this regulation
shall be guilty of an offence against these
Regulations.
Receipts to be issued to the collectors by the treasurer
4.-(1) The treasurer of
every union or of a branch of a trade union shall, when receiving money from a
collector, issue to him a receipt
in form Q in the Schedule, such receipt being
taken from a book of printed receipt forms, the forms being each in duplicate
and numbered
serially.
(Form
Q.)
(2) The treasurer of every
trade union or of a branch of a trade union shall, when issuing a receipt,
ensure that the particulars
entered on the receipt form are legibly duplicated
by carbon copy on the printed duplicate thereof, and shall preserve in the book
the printed duplicate of every receipt
issued.
(3) No treasurer of a
trade union or of a branch of a trade union shall issue a receipt from a fresh
receipt book unless all receipts
from receipt books already in use are
completed.
(4) Every treasurer of
a trade union or of a branch of a trade union shall issue receipts and receipt
books in proper sequence in
accordance with their serial
numbering.
(5) Every treasurer of
a trade union or of a branch of a trade union shall ensure that each collector
accounts to such treasurer for
all receipt books issued to such collector at the
time when the collector accounts for the money collected by
him.
(6) Any treasurer of a trade
union or of a branch of a trade union who contravenes or fails to comply with
any of the provisions of
this regulation shall be guilty of an offence against
these Regulations.
Records of receipt books to be kept
5.-(1) The treasurer of
every trade union shall be responsible for the issue of all receipt books,
whether to treasurers of branches
or to collectors, and the treasurer of a
branch of a trade union shall be responsible for the issue to collectors of all
receipt
books which he receives from the treasurer of the trade
union.
(2) The treasurer of every
trade union or branch of a trade union shall keep a record of all receipt books
which he issues, and shall
record the name of the person to whom each book has
been issued, the serial numbers of the receipts therein, the date when he issued
it and the date when the duplicates of the receipts were returned to him, and
when he has issued books or receipts to any person
(other than the treasurer of
a branch) he shall not issue any further books to such person until the
duplicate of the first-mentioned
books have been returned to
him.
(3) Any treasurer of a trade
union or branch of a trade union who contravenes or fails to comply with any of
the provisions of paragraph
(2) shall be guilty of an offence against these
Regulations.
Payment vouchers to be made out
6.-(1) No person shall
make a payment out of trade union funds unless he shall have first made out a
payment voucher in form R in
the Schedule
and-
(Form
R.)
(a) obtained the signature thereto by the person empowered to authorise such a payment;
(b) signed it;
(c) obtained the signature of the payee (excepting when payment is made by a crossed cheque); and
(d) where the payment is for travelling expenses, recorded therein-
(i) the name of the person travelling;
(ii) the places from which and to which the person has travelled;
(iii) the mode of transport; and
(iv) the reason for the journey and the date thereof.
(2)
Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of this
regulation shall be guilty of an offence.
Cash book and branch analysis cash book
7.-(1) The treasurer of
every trade union shall keep a cash book as indicated in form S in the Schedule
and shall record therein all
moneys received and all moneys paid by the trade
union, including receipts from and payments to branches, in the appropriate
columns
according to the nature of the receipts and payments and according to
whether the moneys are received or paid in cash or are received
into or paid out
of a bank account or other deposit or savings account of the trade
union.
(Form
S.)
(2) Every such treasurer shall
also keep in respect of every branch of the trade union a branch analysis cash
book as indicated in
form T in the Schedule and shall record therein an analysis
of all money received and all moneys paid by every such branch, according
to the
copies of the cash book sheets received from branch treasurers under the next
succeeding regulation, and the receipts and
payments shall be entered in the
appropriate columns as prescribed by paragraph
(1).
(Form
T.)
(3) Any treasurer of a trade
union who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this
regulation shall be guilty
of an offence against these
Regulations.
Branch cash book
8.-(1) The treasurer of
every branch of a trade union shall keep a cash book in form U in the Schedule
with the pages thereof numbered
serially and shall record therein all money
received and all money paid by the branch, including receipts from and payments
to the
trade union headquarters, in the appropriate columns as prescribed by
paragraph (1) of regulation 7.
(Form
T.)
(2) The treasurer of every
branch of a trade union shall balance such cash book at the end of every month
and shall forward to the
treasurer of the trade union within seven days after
the end of the month a copy of every page of the cash book which relates to
that
month and particulars of the
balances.
(3) Any treasurer of a
branch of a trade union who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the
provisions of this regulation shall
be guilty of an offence against these
Regulations.
Special funds
9.-(1) The treasurer of
every trade union or branch of a trade union shall maintain in the trade union's
accounts separate records
of any contributions or donations which are collected
or received for a specific purpose and, subject to any resolution of the members
of the trade union authorising the use thereof for any other purpose, the
treasurer shall not disburse any such contributions or
donations other than for
the specific purpose for which they were collected or
donated.
(2) Any treasurer of a
trade union or of a branch of a trade union who contravenes or fails to comply
with the provisions of this
regulation shall be guilty of an offence against
these Regulations.
Preservation of documents
10.-(1) The treasurer of
every trade union or of a branch of a trade union shall preserve all the books
of account and documents which
it keeps or makes under the provisions of these
Regulations and all books of duplicate receipts and other supporting documents,
for
a period of at least three years after the end of the trade union's
financial year to which they relate and shall take all such precautions
as are
reasonably necessary for their safe
custody.
(2) Any treasurer of a
trade union or of a branch of a trade union who contravenes the provisions of
this regulation shall be guilty
of an offence against these
Regulations.
Bank account to be maintained
11.-(1) The treasurer of
every trade union or of a branch of a trade union shall cause a bank account to
be opened and maintained
in the name of the trade union or branch thereof, as
the case may be, and whenever he receives any moneys belonging to the trade
union or branch thereof he shall within seven days of such receipt pay it into
the bank account.
(2) The
provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to the treasurer of a branch of a
trade union who is permitted by the rules of
the trade union to retain in cash a
sum not exceeding fifty
dollars.
(3) Any treasurer of a
trade union or of a branch of a trade union who contravenes or fails to comply
with the provisions of this
regulation shall be guilty of an offence against
these Regulations.
Power to exempt
12. The Registrar may, in
his discretion and upon application being made to him in that behalf by any
trade union, grant permission
in writing to such trade union to keep its
accounts and records in a form or according to a system other than that
prescribed in
the Schedule, if he is of the opinion that the form or system
adopted by such trade union is adequate and satisfactory in all the
circumstances.
Penalty
13. Any person who is
guilty of an offence against these Regulations shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding fifty dollars or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding two months
or to both such fine and imprisonment.
-----------------------------------------------
(NOTE:
FORMS P – U NOT INCLUDED)
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