ABSTRACT
The term ‘trade union’ is now properly confined to organizations of workers which have registered with the Registrar of Trade Unions under the 1971 Act. In order to register, and thus become a trade union within the statutory definition, the organization must be independent and have power, without the concurrence of a parent organization, to alter its own rules and to control application of its own property and funds. A federation may also register as a trade union but only if all its constituent or affiliated member organizations are registered, either as trade unions or upon the special register. Three registers exist to cover industrial organizations within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act: the register of trade unions; the register of employers’ associations; and the special register. A registered trade union must make provision as to amounts of benefits and the circumstances in which they are payable to members.
