Following the recent introduction of legislation to make the recognition of trade unions mandatory in Gibraltar, the Chamber of Commerce wishes to correct a statement by Minister Linares which claimed that there had been detailed consultation with the Chamber before the legislation came into force.  There was none.

The Chamber, along with other industry bodies, made representations and sought clarifications in 2020 on parts of the command paper from the Government. In its submission the Chamber commented at the time that it was “highly regrettable that the Government did not seek or request any consultation with the Chamber or any local employers during the drafting of this command paper”.

In its submission the Chamber said that this legislation was unnecessary and was too heavily weighted in favour of the unions with very little consideration given to the needs of employers.

The Chamber questioned why the Government should be doing the bidding of the unions by making recognition of the Union mandatory. The Chamber of Commerce would never seek to lobby the Government to make membership of the Chamber mandatory by primary legislation.

Existing legislation and regulations already protect the rights and welfare of employees in Gibraltar. Where there is a breach of these regulations then the law is there to protect workers and uphold their rights.

As in the UK, a number of local companies recognise unions in some way already, but it is voluntary. In the UK, trade union recognition is not mandatory and for good reason.  Forcing a company to recognise a trade union would be an unnecessary encumbrance to their day to day operations.  Existing legislation is sufficient to protect the rights and welfare of UK employees. Gibraltar should have opted for parity in this regard and not sought to give the Union greater powers than its UK counterparts.

As Gibraltar awaits the outcome of the current treaty discussions, it needs to remain a competitive jurisdiction in every respect and one which is attractive to business so that we can take advantage of the future opportunities.

ENDS