PART 3 | ILLEGAL STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS IN ESSENTIAL SERVICES |
| Interpretation of this Part |
5. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —| “Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Labour, and includes any Deputy or Assistant Commissioner for Labour; |
| “essential service” means any service, business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling included in Part 1 of the First Schedule; |
| “lock-out” 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 trade 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; |
“public health service” means —| (a) | any hospital, clinic, sanatorium or other institution for the care of the sick; and | | (b) | any system of public conservancy or sanitation; |
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| “strike” means the cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any essential service acting in combination, or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of a number of persons who are or who have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment; |
| “workman” means any person who has entered into or works under a 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 or of apprenticeship or a contract personally to execute any work, and includes, for the purposes of any proceedings under this Part in relation to a trade dispute, a workman discharged during that dispute. |
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| Restrictions on strikes and lock-outs |
6.—(1) No workman employed in any of the following essential services shall go on strike:| (a) | water services; | | (b) | gas services; | | (c) | electricity services. |
(2) No workman employed in any essential service, not being an essential service specified in subsection (1), shall go on strike —| (a) | unless at least 14 days before striking he has given to his employer notice of intention to strike as provided by this section; | | (b) | before the date of striking specified in the notice of intention to strike; or | | (c) | during the pendency of any proceedings. |
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| (3) No employer shall lock out any workman engaged in any essential service specified in subsection (1). |
(4) No employer shall lock out any workman engaged in any essential service, not being an essential service specified in subsection (1) —| (a) | unless at least 14 days before locking out he has given to his workmen notice of intention to lock out as provided by this section; | | (b) | before the date of locking out specified in the notice of intention to lock out; or | | (c) | during the pendency of any proceedings. |
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(5) The notice referred to in subsection (2) shall —| (a) | be delivered to the employer or his manager; | | (b) | be signed by not less than 7 workmen employed by the employer and concerned in the strike, or by 7 representatives of the trade union of which the workmen are members; and | | (c) | be in accordance with Form 1 set out in Part 2 of the First Schedule. |
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(6) The notice referred to in subsection (4) shall —| (a) | be signed by the employer; | | (b) | be delivered to a representative of the workmen concerned or to an officer of the trade union to which the workmen belong; and | | (c) | be in accordance with Form 2 set out in Part 2 of the First Schedule. |
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| (7) The employer shall cause a copy of the notice referred to in subsection (4) to be posted at 3 conspicuous places in the place of work where the workmen affected thereby are ordinarily employed. |
| (8) A copy of every notice which is given under subsection (2) or (4) shall be delivered to the Commissioner within 3 days after the notice is given. |
| (9) Every notice which is given under subsection (2) or (4) shall expire at the end of 30 days from the date of the notice. |
(10) In this section, “proceedings” means —| (a) | conciliation proceedings directed by the Commissioner under section 21(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1960 or by the Minister under section 23(1) of that Act; | | (b) | proceedings before an Industrial Arbitration Court in respect of a trade dispute of which that Court has cognizance by virtue of section 31 of the Industrial Relations Act 1960; or | | (c) | proceedings before a board of inquiry appointed by the Minister under section 74(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1960. |
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| Illegal strikes and lock-outs |
| 7. A strike or lock-out shall be deemed to be illegal if it is commenced, declared or continued in contravention of section 6, or of any provision of any other written law. |
| Lock-out or strike consequent on illegal strike or lock-out |
| 8. A lock-out declared in consequence of an illegal strike or a strike declared in consequence of an illegal lock-out shall not be deemed to be illegal. |
| Penalty for illegal strikes and lock-outs |
9.—(1) Any workman who commences, continues or otherwise acts in furtherance of a strike which is illegal under this Part shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.| (2) Any employer who commences, continues or otherwise acts in furtherance of a lock-out which is illegal under this Part shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
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10. Any person who —| (a) | instigates or incites others to take part in, or otherwise acts in furtherance of, a strike or lock-out which is illegal under this Part; or | | (b) | instigates or incites others to withhold their labour or services knowing or having reason to believe that the probable consequences of that action will be to endanger human life or the efficient operation of any public health service or cause serious bodily injury or expose valuable property whether real or personal to destruction or serious damage, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
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| Penalty for giving financial aid to illegal strikes or lock‑outs |
| 11. Any person who knowingly expends or applies any money in direct furtherance or support of any illegal strike or lock‑out shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
| Protection of persons refusing to take part in illegal strikes or lock‑outs |
| 12. No person refusing to take part or to continue to take part in any strike or lock‑out which is by this Part declared to be illegal shall be, by reason of the refusal, subject to expulsion from any trade union or society, or to any fine or penalty, or to the deprivation of any right or benefit to which he or his legal personal representatives would otherwise be entitled, or be liable to be placed in any respect, directly or indirectly, under any disability or at any disadvantage as compared with other members of the union or society, anything to the contrary in the rules of a trade union or society notwithstanding. |
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