Dear PMSL:
We recently suspended an employee and have now received a letter for a meeting with a Union.  The Company is not a unionized, can the Union do this?

PMSL's Response:
This is a common misconception among employers – that unless the company is unionized i.e. has a Recognized Majority Union – workers can not be represented by a Trade Union on any issue.

Freedom of association is guaranteed by the Constitution and the rights of workers to be members of and represented by a Trade Union are enshrined in the Industrial Relations Act (1972):

Rights of workers in respect of trade union membership and activities.

71.   Every worker as between himself, his employer and co-workers shall have the following rights, that is to say:

(a)    the right to be a member of any trade union or any number of trade unions of his choice;

In addition, the IRA states that in addition to the employer and the RMU, “where there is no recognised majority union, any trade union, of which the worker or workers who are parties to the dispute are members in good standing, may report a trade disipute

Note however, that only “rights” issues can be represented by a Trade Union that is not a Recognized Majority Union – Industrial Relations Act Section (51) (5):

“For the purpose of this Act and in particular subsection (1)(c), a trade union other than a recognised majority union, is competent to pursue the following types of trade dispute, but no other, in accordance with this Act:

(a)    any dispute or difference between the employer and the union or between workers and workers of that employer, in each case being on behalf of members of the union, concerning the application to any such worker of existing terms and conditions of employment or the denial of any right applicable to any such worker in respect of the employment; and

(b)    a dispute between the employer and the union as to dismissal, employment, non-employment, suspension from employment, refusal to employ, re-employment or reinstatement of a worker or workers.”