Cabinet approves amendments on Industrial Board composition

The Cabinet has approved legal amendments to the Employment and Industrial Relations Act of 2002, following a Constitutional Court judgement that found various provisions of the EIRA to be unconstitutional.

“The governmnet is acting to strengthen the guarantees of independence and impartiality and remove previous practices that breached fair hearing rules,” the government said in a statement.

The Bill will be published imminently with a view for a reading in the House by the end of February.

The Constitutional Court confirmed on appeal that the composition of industrial tribunals breaches the right to a fair hearing. The General Workers Union (GWU) had complained that when a case before the tribunal affects persons employed by government entities, a tribunal member is chosen to represent the interest of government, or the corporation involved in the work dispute, and must be a person chosen ad hoc by the ministry.