A suggestion by the General Workers’ Union for compulsory trade union membership may come as sweet music to the hundreds, if not thousands, of workers being paid low wages by unscrupulous employers taking advantage of the economic boom. Many have already quickly retorted it would serve complaining employers right if such a suggestion were to be taken up.
No one ought to take advantage of workers, generally low skilled, in the manner a number of employers in some sectors are doing today. However, to propose compulsory trade union membership would not be in the interest of the workers, mainly because it deprives them of the right to freedom of association, that is, the choice whether to be unionised or not.
Still, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who has lately taken to much rhetoric, grandstanding and a tendency to play to the gallery in a super self-confidence mode, has weighed in on the matter. He is encouraging a discussion about the possibility of forcing workers – that is how it was put – to become part of a trade union.
He went further and suggested the debate should also extend to whether all companies would have to be associated with an employers’ organisation.
Needless to say, all this was equivalent to waving a red rag in front of a bull. Three employer organisations – the Malta Employers’ Association, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association –have unsurprisingly come out strongly against the proposal as they argue, correctly, that joining a trade union or an employer organisation should be left entirely up to the individual employee or company.
Compulsory trade union membership is of direct benefit to trade unions as they amass greater power and boost their income through increased membership dues. A tenet in industrial relations is that no person shall seek, through any threat or intimidation, to compel or coerce anybody to join or not to join and to support or not to support any employees’ or employers’ organisation or union.
The principles of freedom of association are enshrined in International Labour Organisation declarations and are protected by the United Nations and human rights instruments.
One of the trade unions’ arguments in favour of compulsory membership is that, since non-members, or free-riders, as they are called, also share in the benefits won, they too ought to contribute to the union just like the rest of the employees.
But what if non-members are able to negotiate better working conditions for themselves? If they are unable to do so, would it not be in their interest to join a trade union?
Other than these considerations, there is another very important issue at stake. Maybe workers are unwilling to join a trade union – however effective it may be – that is directly or indirectly part of, or even associated with, a political party.
If the suggestion for compulsory membership is being made out ofa desire to avoid the widespread exploitation taking place today, other measures can be explored, such as a greater degree of labour inspection to ensure that workers, including, of course, foreign ones, are not at least paid below the minimum established rates. In this way, freedom of association remains intact.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial