The Gazette 1967/71

Hague

before

15th

June,

1970. Very

few

scholarships to cover tuition and accommodation

expenses are awarded.

IRISH SOCIETY OF LABOUR LAW

AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION

Several members of

the Council attended a

meeting of the Society which was held in the

Clarence Hotel, Dublin, on llth January. Mr. J.

B. McCartney, Lecturer in Labour Law, Queen's

University, Belfast, deputised at short notice for

Mr. J. P. Casey, Lecturer in Law, Aberdeen

University, who was to have spoken on

The use

of the Injunction in Industrial Disputes in Ireland.

Mr. Bre.ndan A. McGrath presided.

Mr. McCartney, having dealt with

the con

ditions necessary to grant an injunction, emphas

ised that in the usual ex parte application by an

employer, the defendant did not get notice of the

facts contained in the affidavit, and could not

challenge them; furthermore the legal rules per.

taining to injunctions often get scant attention

from the Judges, who are often anti-Trade Union.

The Trade Disputes Act 1906 contained many

uncertainties, and

in one way or another all

strikes could be strictly unlawful. The injunction

in trade disputes, although in theory discretionary,

appears to be granted more often than not in

Ireland, although it should not issue if damages

are an adequate remedy to employers. While 37

injunctions,

trade

disputes were granted

between 1958 and 1967, no less than 20 such

injunctions appear to have been granted in 1969.

In Britain on account of the draconian provisions

of the Trade Disputes Act 1927, w

hich w

as only

repealed

in 1946,

there had not

be.en

much

opportunity for the Courts to inter

fere in

trade

disputes, with the result that all the important

decisions on trade disputes between 1927 and 1946

were, Irish decisions. The Courts here got an

opportunity to examine

the

1906 Act, which

Grunfield and the modern Citrine recognise.

While the Courts are cognisant that the balance

of convenience

favour of granting

the

injunction, since

Educational Co. v. Fitzpatrick,

(1961)

I.R. 345

this appears

to be

readily

shown

in favour of the employer. In

judeing

whether irreparable injury is done to the interests

concerned, little use appears to have been made

of Trade Union convenience. As injunctions in a

trade disputes may often lead to strikes, it would

seem to bring the law into disrepute and con

sequently the ready access of employers to the

Courts

has

not

produced

better

industrial

relations. This was shown when the legislation

prohibiting strikes

in electricity works proved

abortive and had eventually to be repealed.

Mr. McCartney examined briefly the history

of labour relations in the United States, in which

ultimately an injunction is only granted at the

suit of

the Labour Relations Court of each

State;

this invites an open hearing, and cross

examination of witnesses. He suggested that the

larger

trade

unions

should

get

legal

departments which would protect more effectively

the interest of members; in the event of legal

difficulties, a private member's bill should be

introduced. It was essential however to remove

the ambit of these disputes from the ordinary

Courts to a specially constituted Labour Court,

with an eminent

lawyer as Chairman. There

should also be an appelate division with full

powers.

regard

to Article 40

(6) of

the

Constitution it was essential to follow the con

ventions of the International Labour Office as

regards

negotiation,

and

the

present partial

legislation in favour of employers in regard to

unjust dismissals should be amended.

In order to avoid damaging strikes, it was

necessary to set up a Rights Commissioner to

investigate and report upon grievances in labour

disputes. It is interesting to note that, from the

point of view of international statistics, one big

strike can put Ireland to the bottom of the, table.

It was also apparent that so many Trade Union

agreements were so nebulous that they would

be deemed void for uncertainty. There was a

vital need for the Universities in the Republic to

carry out a detailed survey of the use of the

injunction in trade disputes here, and to suggest

appropriate remedial legislation

to replace the

1906 Act.

In answer to questions, the lecturer said: —

(1) That practically all injunctions granted in

these

cases were

interim

injunctions or

interlocutory injunctions.

(2) There were some dangers in applying com

parative

labour

law

conditions here,