Every worker has right to join trade union

Claris Ogangah

Trade union means an association of employees whose principal purpose is to regulate the relations between employers and employees.

A trade union is a legal entity with duly elected officials and is expected to make returns on its activities.

Matters to do with trade unions are currently governed by the Labour Relations Act 2007, which is an Act that replaced the Trade Disputes Act, the law previously dealing with trade unions.

The main role of trade unions is to negotiate for better working conditions and remuneration for its members. Trade unions also advocate for sound relations between employers and employees through the promotion and protection of freedom of association, collective bargains and dispute resolution.

Trade unions are basically formed to fight for workers’ rights.

Recognition agreement

However, before a trade union can be duly recognised to be a body representing workers’ rights, it has to enter into an agreement referred to as a recognition agreement. This agreement is made between the trade union and the employer and will regulate the recognition that the trade union will represent the interests of the unionisable employees.

According to Section 4 of the Labour Relations Act, every employee has a right to associate and can therefore join a trade union and participate in its activities. The Act clearly provides that any employee is free to join a trade union voluntarily and the Act prohibits denial of employees from joining trade unions or forcing employees to join one.

The Act uses the term ‘unionisable employee’ to refer to employees who are eligible to join a trade union.

The Act further provides that only persons above the age of 18 can join a trade union. However, it allows for a person aged 16 to be a member under special circumstances.

Running of union

The Act also provides that an employee can only be a member of a trade union of the sector within which one works. For instance, if one works in the flower farm industry, she can only join a trade union that addresses the rights of flower farm workers and cannot opt to join a food industry trade union.

As a member of such a trade union, an employee is required to pay a certain amount of money to assist in the running of the union.

Working terms

This money is either paid directly by the employee or the employer can be requested to make periodic deductions and forward to the trade union.

Trade unions are given the mandate to negotiate for working terms on behalf of the employees and to come up with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which is a written agreement concerning any terms and conditions of employment made between a trade union and an employer.

A CBA also addresses issues to do with dispute resolutions. The dispute resolution mechanisms mostly recognised by these agreements include conciliation and arbitration. The awards emanating from such resolutions are binding on both employees and employers and can only be set aside by a court of law.

Right of employee

It is a good idea to join a union as they are instrumental in fighting for workers’ rights. A perfect example is the Kenya National Union of Teachers, which has for a long time fought for the rights of teachers and has in a lot of ways been successful in advocating for their rights.

As a worker, it is important to note that the Constitution guarantees the freedom to associate, which in essence translates to the right of every employee to join or refuse to join a trade union.