Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Gibraltar

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Employment (Trade Union Recognition) Regulations (hereinafter, the Regulations) were adopted in 2023.

Article 4 of the Convention. Recognition of organizations for the purposes of collective bargaining. Rights of minority unions. The Committee notes that, according to section 6(12) of the Regulations, if the result of a secret ballot to determine entitlement to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of a bargaining unit is that a trade union is not supported by at least 50 per cent of the employees constituting the unit, the Director of Employment must issue a declaration that the union is not entitled to be recognized. In this respect, the Committee recalls that while it is acceptable that the union which represents the majority or a high percentage of workers in a bargaining unit should enjoy preferential or exclusive bargaining rights, it considers that in cases where no union meets these conditions, or does not enjoy such exclusive rights, minority trade unions should at least be able to conclude a collective or direct agreement on behalf of their own members (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 226). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 6(12) of the Regulations, indicating in particular whether minority trade unions can, either separately or jointly, negotiate at least on behalf of their own members in situations where there is no organization that represents over 50 per cent of the workers of a bargaining unit

Recognition procedure and criteria of representativity. The Committee also notes that section 5(8)(b) of the Regulations provides that an application by a trade union for recognition as bargaining agent will not be admissible if a previous application from that union covering the same or substantially the same bargaining unit has been received within the last 3 years. In this respect, the Committee recalls that it has considered that a three-year time span required before an organization which had previously failed to obtain recognition as most representative could seek a new decision should be reduced to a more reasonable period (see General Survey of 2012, para. 232). The Committee requests the Government to take, in consultation with the social partners, the necessary steps to amend the above-mentioned provision so as to guarantee the right of an organization, which in a previous trade union election failed to secure a sufficiently large number of votes, to request a new election after a reasonable period.

Promotion of collective bargaining in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of collective agreements signed and in force, the sectors concerned and the number of workers covered by these agreements, and to report on any measures taken to promote collective bargaining in all sectors covered by the Convention.