President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has ratified the Industrial Relations Bill, which provides for the formation of trade unions and the right to participate in or abstain from their activities.
The formation of workers' associations and participation in their activities is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Subsequently, workers' associations were formed, but in the absence of a special law, such associations do not have adequate legal authority.
The Parliament passed this bill during the 37th sitting of its third session of 2023, held on Monday, December 18, 2023, shortly after concerns over the issue were raised.
The bill outlines activities promoting the exercise of constitutional rights, such as the right to form trade unions and the right to participate in or abstain from their activities, along with the parameters of such rights.
The bill also specifies the procedures for creating employee and employer trade unions, the procedures for resolving disputes between employers and employees, and other trade union-related details.
According to the act, the President is required to appoint a person as the registrar of unions within 30 days of the bill's ratification. The Registrar of Unions is responsible for managing and maintaining employee and employer trade union registration, enforcing legal and regulatory measures against unions that breach laws and regulations, and fulfilling all other responsibilities imposed on the registrar by this law.
Any employee and employer trade union registered under any other law or regulation must submit an application to the Registrar of Unions under the new law within three months of its ratification.
Within this period, an eight-member Tripartite Advisory Board is to be constituted, while the Employment Tribunal is mandated to create a new division called the Industrial Dispute Resolution Division.
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