ABSTRACT
However, government control of trade unions has two elements: the first is its supervisory powers over trade unions established by the legal framework and the second is its choice as to what extent it enforces its supervisory powers. The legislation introduced in the colonial era gave the Governor, the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) and the Commissioner of Police extensive powers to control trade union organisation and activities. However, the government chose, from the 1970s onwards, to use its supervisory powers benevolently and to achieve trade union compliance with the administrative requirements by persuasion rather than coercion.
