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[F.A.Q.]
Vanuatu Consolidated Legislation |
Commencement: 6 June 1983
LAWS
OF THE REPUBLIC OF
VANUATU
REVISED
EDITION 1988
CHAPTER 162
Act
3 of 1983ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART
I
Preliminary
1.
Interpretation
2. Trade unions
etc. as
parties to disputes
PART
II
Individual
Disputes between Employers and Workers
3. Conciliation in
individual disputes
4. Labour officer
to promote settlement
5. Power of
labour officer in a dispute
6.
Memorandum of conciliation
PART
III
Conciliation
and Arbitration in Trade Disputes
7. Commissioner to offer
assistance towards settlement
8.
Appointment of conciliator
9. Duties
of conciliator
10. Effects of
conciliation
11. Commissioner may
recommend arbitration
12. Minister may
set up board of arbitration
13. Board
to make award without delay
14.
Matters to be considered by board
15.
The making of an award
16. Vacancies
on board not to invalidate
proceedings
17. Board may correct
mistakes etc.
18. Effects of awards
and settlements
19. Awards and
settlements not to conflict with
law
20. Communications in arbitration
and conciliation privileged
21.
Admission of legal practitioners
etc.
22.
Evidence
23. Expenses of conciliation
or arbitration
24. Remuneration of
conciliators and board members
PART
IV
Trade Disputes
Affecting Essential Services
25. Definition of
"essential service"
26. Conciliation
or arbitration to commence
forthwith
27. President may proclaim
emergency pending settlement
28.
Proclamation of emergency
29. Powers
of Minister
30. Protection for
administering proclamation of
emergency
31. Government may recover
cost of providing essential
service
32. Presumptive provision in
awards applicable to essential
services
33. Prohibition of strike and
lock-outs during emergency
PART
V
Provisions with
Respect to Strikes, Lock-outs etc.
34. Minister may order
industrial action to be discontinued or
deferred
35. Peaceful
picketing
36. Secondary
action
37. Intimidation or
annoyance
PART
VI
Miscellaneous
38. The President may set
up Commissions of Inquiry into trade
disputes
39. Conspiracy in trade
disputes
40. Application of the Act to
Government and Public Service
-------------------------------------------------
TRADE DISPUTES
To make provision for
settlement of trade disputes by conciliation or arbitration and for matters
incidental thereto.
PART
I
PRELIMINARY
INTERPRETATION
1.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"arbitration proceedings" means proceedings taken before a board, under this Act, with a view to bringing about a settlement of a trade dispute by arbitration between the parties;
"board" means a board of arbitration set up under section 12;
"Commissioner" means the person holding the office of the Commissioner of Labour under the Employment Act, Cap. 160;
"conciliation proceedings" means proceedings taken before a conciliator under this Act with a view to bringing about a settlement of a trade dispute by conciliation between the parties;
"conciliator" means a person appointed by the Commissioner under section 8 with view to bringing about a settlement of a trade dispute by parties;
"irregular industrial action short of a strike" means any concerted course of conduct (other than a strike) which, in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute-
(a) is carried on by a group of workers with the intention of preventing, reducing or otherwise interfering with the production of goods or the provision of services; and
(b) in the case of all or some of them, is carried on in breach of their contracts of employment;
"labour officer" means a person holding the office of a labour officer under the Employment Act, Cap. 160;
"Labour Advisory Board" means the Labour Advisory Board appointed under the Employment Act, Cap. 160;
"lock-out" means action which, in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, is taken by one or more employers, whether parties to the dispute or not, and which consists in the exclusion of workers from one or more factories, offices or other places of employment or in the suspension of work in one or more such places or in the collective, simultaneous or otherwise connected termination o suspension of employment of a group of workers;
"registered trade union" means a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act, Cap. 161;
"strike" means a concerted stoppage of work by a group of workers in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, whether they are parties to the dispute or not, and whether (in the case of all or any of those workers) it is or is of in breach of their contracts of employment;
"trade dispute" means a dispute between employers and workers or between workers and workers, which is connected with one or more of the following-
(a) the terms and conditions of employment, or the physical conditions in which" any workers are required to work;
(b) engagement or non-engagement, or termination or suspension of employment or the duties of employment, of one or more workers;
(c) allocation of work or the duties of employment as between workers or groups of workers;
(d) matters of discipline;
(e) the membership or non-membership of a trade union on the part of a worker;
(f) facilities for officials of trade unions;
(g) machinery for negotiation or consultation, and other procedures relating to any of the foregoing matters, including the recognition by employers or employers' Associations of the right of a trade union to represent workers in any such negotiation or consultation or in the carrying out of such procedures;
"worker" means a person who works or normally works or seeks to work-
(a) under a contract of employment; or
(b) under any other contract (whether express or implied, and if express, whether oral or in writing) whereby he undertakes to perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract who is not a professional client of his.
TRADE
UNIONS ETC.
AS PARTIES TO
DISPUTES
2. A trade dispute to
which a registered trade union or an employers' association is a party shall be
treated for the purposes of
this Act as a trade dispute to which workers or, as
the case may be, employers are parties.
PART
II
INDIVIDUAL
DISPUTES BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS
CONCILIATION
IN INDIVIDUAL DISPUTES
3. Where a
dispute other than a trade dispute as defined in section 1, between a worker and
his employer arises from, or in connection
with, the terms and conditions of a
contract of employment or the manner of its performance, either party may
request a labour officer
to assist with a view to bringing about a settlement of
the dispute by
conciliation.
LABOUR
OFFICER TO PROMOTE SETTLEMENT
4.
Where a request referred to in section 3 is made to a labour officer, and the
labour officer considers that he can act upon such
request with a reasonable
prospect of success, it shall be his, duty without delay to endeavour to promote
settlements of the dispute
without its being determined by a
Court.
POWER OF
LABOUR OFFICER IN A DISPUTE
5. (1)
For the purposes of the exercise of his functions under section 4 a labour
officer may-
(a) require the parties to the dispute and any other person whom he has reason to believe can give information relevant to the matter in dispute, to appear before him at an appointed time and place;
(b) require any person to produce any documents or records touching upon the matter in dispute in the possession or under the control of such person.
(2)
A person who-
(a) fails to comply with any requirement of a labour officer under subsection (1); or
(b) knowingly gives to a labour officer information false in any material particular;
shall
be guilty of an
offence.
MEMORANDUM
OF CONCILIATION
6. A memorandum
recording the terms of the conciliation or default thereof shall be drawn by the
labour officer before whom the conciliation
proceedings have taken place, and
shall be signed by him and by the parties. The terms of such memorandum shall be
binding on the
parties to the dispute.
PART
III
CONCILIATION
AND ARBITRATION IN TRADE DISPUTES
COMMISSIONER
TO OFFER ASSISTANCE TOWARDS
SETTLEMENT
7. (1) Where a trade
dispute exists or is apprehended the Commissioner may, at the request of one or
more parties to the dispute or
otherwise, offer the parties to the dispute
assistance with a view to bringing about a settlement of the
dispute.
(2) The Commissioner
shall consider the likelihood of the dispute being settled otherwise than under
the provisions of this Act and,
where there exist appropriate agreed procedures
for negotiation of the settlement of disputes, shall not take any action with a
view
to instituting conciliation or arbitration proceedings under this Act,
unless those procedures have been used and have failed to
result in a settlement
or unless, in the opinion of the Commissioner, there is a special reason which
justifies conciliation or arbitration
under this Act as an alternative to those
procedures.
APPOINTMENT
OF CONCILIATOR
8. If the
Commissioner considers that there is a reasonable prospect of bringing about a
settlement of a trade dispute by conciliation
he may appoint a person to be a
conciliator in the
dispute.
DUTIES
OF CONCILIATOR
9. (1) It shall be
the duty of the conciliator without delay to endeavour to promote a settlement
of the dispute by conciliation and,
for this purpose, he shall have the powers
of a labour officer set out in section 5 and may require all or any of the
parties to
submit to him a report in writing-
(a) setting out the matters in issue between them; and
(b) stating the efforts, if any, that have been made by any party or other person with a view to bringing about a settlement.
(2)
Section 5(2) shall apply in relation to proceedings before a conciliator as it
applies in relation to proceedings before a labour
officer.
EFFECTS
OF CONCILIATION
10. (1) If the
conciliator succeeds in bringing about a settlement of a trade dispute, in full
or in part, he shall prepare a memorandum
setting out the terms and conditions
of the settlement. The memorandum shall be signed by all the parties to the
dispute and shall
be endorsed by the conciliator, and thereupon the terms of the
settlement shall have the effect of an award made by a
board.
(2) If the conciliator
fails to bring about a settlement of a trade dispute within 21 days of the date
of his appointment, or such
further period as the Commissioner may allow, he
shall prepare and furnish to the Commissioner a full report on the subject
matter
of the dispute, the process of conciliation and such matters, if any, as
may have been settled between the parties in the course
or as a result
thereof.
COMMISSIONER
MAY RECOMMEND ARBITRATION
11. If
the Commissioner considers that there is a reasonable prospect of bringing about
a settlement of a dispute, in whole or in
part, by arbitration, he may, subject
to the written consent of all the parties to the dispute, recommend to the
Minister that the
dispute, or any outstanding part thereof, be referred to a
board of
arbitration.
MINISTER
MAY SET UP BOARD OF
ARBITRATION
12. Upon the receipt
of the Commissioner's recommendation under section 11 the Minister may refer the
dispute, or any outstanding
part thereof, to a board of arbitration which shall
consist of-
(a) a sole arbitrator appointed by the Minister; or
(b) a chairman and an equal number of members experienced in industrial relations as representatives of employers and representatives of workers respectively, all appointed by the Minister.
BOARD
TO MAKE AWARD WITHOUT DELAY
13.
The board shall make its award without delay and, in any case, not later than 21
days from the date of the reference of a dispute
thereto:
Provided that the
Minister may, if in his opinion it is necessary or desirable to do so, extend
such period as he may think
fit.
MATTERS TO
BE CONSIDERED BY BOARD
14. In
making an award or other decision with a view to a settlement of a trade dispute
the board shall, in addition to the rights
and interests of the parties to the
dispute, consider the effects such award or decision may be likely to have on
the social and
economic development of
Vanuatu.
THE
MAKING OF AN AWARD
15. Any award
or other decision of a board constituted under section 12(b) must be made
unanimously by all the members of the board
or, if the members cannot reach a
unanimous decision, by the
chairman.
VACANCIES
ON BOARD NOT TO INVALIDATE
PROCEEDINGS
16. Whenever a board
consists of more than one person and a vacancy occurs in their number the board
may, with the consent of all
the parties to the trade dispute, continue to act
notwithstanding such vacancy, and if such consent has been obtained, no award or
other decision of the board shall be called in question or held invalid by
reason of any such
vacancy.
BOARD
MAY CORRECT MISTAKES ETC.
17. (1)
The board may correct in any award any clerical mistake or error arising from an
accidental slip or omission.
(2)
If any question arises as to the interpretation of an award any party to the
award may apply to the board for a decision on that
question.
(3) The board shall
decide any such question after hearing the parties or, if the parties consent,
without a hearing, and shall notify
the parties of the
decision.
EFFECTS
OF AWARDS AND SETTLEMENTS
18. An
award or settlement resulting from any arbitration or conciliation proceedings
shall be binding upon the parties to the trade
dispute for such period, not
being less than 1 year, as may be specified in the award or settlement, and may
be made with retrospective
effect.
AWARDS
AND SETTLEMENTS NOT TO CONFLICT WITH
LAW
19. No award or settlement
resulting from any arbitration or conciliation proceedings shall be made which,
is inconsistent with any
written
law.
COMMUNICATIONS
IN ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
PRIVILEGED
20. Anything
communicated to a board or to any person conducting or presiding over any
conciliation or arbitration proceedings, shall
not be admissible in evidence in
any proceedings before a court, except with the consent of the party who
communicated it to such
board or
person.
ADMISSION
OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ETC.
21. In
any conciliation or arbitration proceedings it shall be in the discretion of the
person conducting or presiding over such proceedings-
(a) to permit or refuse to permit any interested party to appear by a legal practitioner, and, in the case of a worker, by, or with the assistance of, an officer of a registered trade union of which he is a member; and
(b) to admit or to exclude members of the public or representatives of the press from attending such proceedings.
EVIDENCE
22.
(1) Any person or board acting in the exercise of their functions shall be
entitled to elicit all such information as may be required
for that purpose
without being bound by the rules of evidence applicable in civil or criminal
proceedings, and may require any person-
(a) to furnish, in writing or otherwise, such particulars in relation to any matter as may be required;
(b) to attend and give evidence on oath or otherwise:
Provided
that if any person objects to furnishing any such particulars or to answering
any question or to producing any document on
the ground that it will tend to
incriminate him, or on any other lawful ground, he shall not be required to
furnish such particulars
or to answer such question or to produce such document,
and shall not be liable to any penalty for refusing to do
so.
(2) Any person
who-
(a) without lawful excuse fails to comply with any requirement made of him under subsection (1); or
(b) knowingly gives information or produces a document which is false in any material particular;
shall
be guilty of an offence.
Penalty:
fine not exceeding VT100,000 and imprisonment for a term not exceeding
years.
EXPENSES
OF CONCILIATION OR ARBITRATION
23.
Where a settlement of a trade dispute is brought about by way of conciliation or
arbitration proceedings, the conciliator or the
board, as the case may be, may
order all or any of the parties to the dispute (other than the Government) to
contribute towards the
expenses of the proceedings, in full or in part, as the
conciliator or the board thinks fit, and the amount of such contribution
shall
be a civil debt owing by the party concerned to the Government and may be
enforced as
such.
REMUNERATION
OF CONCILIATORS AND BOARD
MEMBERS
24. There shall be paid to
the conciliators and to the chairman and members of a board of arbitration such
travelling and other allowances,
including compensation for loss of remunerative
time, as the Minister may by regulation, or by an order made in any particular
case
determine.
PART
IV
TRADE DISPUTES
AFFECTING ESSENTIAL SERVICES
DEFINITION
OF "ESSENTIAL SERVICE"
25. In this
Part the expression "essential services" means-
(a) any of the following services or facilities ordinarily available to the public-
(i) air traffic control;
(ii) fire fighting;
(iii) generation and supply of electricity;
(iv) health and sanitary services;
(v) lighthouses or other navigational safety devices;
(vi) meteorological services;
(vii) rescue services (land, sea and air);
(viii) postal and telecommunication services;
(ix) water and sewerage;
(b) any activity concerned with supplying anything necessary for maintaining any service or facility specified in paragraph (a);
(c) any other service, facility or activity declared by the Minister by Order to be an essential service for the purposes of this Part.
CONCILIATION
OR ARBITRATION TO COMMENCE
FORTHWITH
26. Where a trade
dispute, which, in the opinion of the Minister, constitutes a threat of a
serious disruption of, or interference
with, the proper and orderly maintenance
or management of an essential service, exists or is apprehended, the Minister
shall forth
with take such action and issue such directives as may appear to him
necessary or conducive to bringing about a settlement of the
dispute by
conciliation or arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Part
III.
PRESIDENT
MAY PROCLAIM EMERGENCY PENDING
SETTLEMENT
27. Pending a
settlement of a trade dispute referred to in section 26, the President on the
advice of the Prime Minister, may issue
a proclamation of emergency in relation
to the essential service in
question.
PROCLAMATION
OF EMERGENCY
28. (1) A
proclamation of emergency in relation to any essential service may be limited as
to time, place and
circumstance.
(2) The President
may determine that any Minister nominated in the proclamation of emergency shall
have, in respect of the essential
service to which the proclamation relates all
or any of the powers specified in section
29.
(3) A proclamation of
emergency shall be in force for a period specified therein not exceeding 1
month, but the President may, by
further proclamation, extend its operation for
a further period which shall not exceed 1
month.
POWERS
OF MINISTER
29. (1) The Minister
nominated under section 28(2) may provide, operate, maintain, control and
regulate the essential service in respect
of which he is nominated, during the
period of emergency and for that purpose may exercise all the rights of an
employer of labour
in that essential
service.
(2) Without limiting the
generality of subsection (1), the Minister nominated under section 28(2) may,
for the purpose of exercising
the powers under that subsection, by
Order-
(a) prohibit persons employed in the essential service from commencing a strike, or direct persons ordinarily employed in or in connection therewith who are engaged in a strike, to terminate such strike;
(b) direct what activities shall be performed for the purposes of the essential service and the terms and conditions upon which that essential service shall be provided;
(c) direct at what times and places and upon what terms and conditions and in what manner the essential service may be used;
(d) prohibit the provision, operation or maintenance of the essential service except with his consent first had and obtained;
(e) authorize any person to enter upon any land, building or structure used in, or in connection with, the provision, operation or maintenance of the essential service;
and
may provide by Order for any matter incidental to the exercise of the powers
conferred by this section.
(3) A
person authorized by the Minister under subsection (2)(e) shall be entitled to
enter upon the land, building or structure specified
in the authority and
therein to do-
(a) all such acts and things as he is directed under subsection (2) to do;
(b) all such acts and things as, in his opinion, should be done for the provision, operation and maintenance of the essential service for the purposes of which the land, building or structure is used.
(4)
A person who is required to perform any activity for the purpose of complying
with a direction given under subsections (2) and
(3) shall be deemed to have
entered into a contract of service with the Government to perform that activity
in the course of his
employment.
(5) Any person who
fails to comply with any direction or prohibition under this section shall be
guilty of an
offence.
PROTECTION
FOR ADMINISTERING PROCLAMATION OF
EMERGENCY
30. No person shall
incur any liability on account of anything done under this Part without
negligence and in good faith in a belief
on reasonable grounds that it is
authorized under section 29 to be
done.
GOVERNMENT
MAY RECOVER COST OF PROVIDING ESSENTIAL
SERVICE
31. Any expenses incurred
by the Government in, or in connection with, the provision, operation or
maintenance of an essential service
in pursuance of an Order under section 29
may be recovered from the person ordinarily responsible for the provision,
operation or
maintenance of that service, as a civil debt owing by him to the
Government:
Provided that the
amount of the expenses recoverable under this section shall not exceed the
amount of the expenses which would have
been incurred by that person in, or in
connection with, the provision, operation or maintenance of that service if an
Order under
section 29 had not been made in respect
thereof.
PRESUMPTIVE
PROVISION IN AWARDS APPLICABLE TO ESSENTIAL
SERVICES
32. During a period of
emergency existing in relation to any essential service every award or agreement
applicable to work in that
service shall be deemed to contain a provision that
requires all workers engaged therein to work on the terms and conditions of the
award or agreement and to perform the work in a manner customarily required of
workers under that award or
agreement.
PROHIBITION
OF STRIKE AND LOCK-OUTS DURING
EMERGENCY
33. Without prejudice to
section 3A any person who-
(a) engages or continues to engage in a strike;
(b) institutes a lock-out against workers who ordinarily work in the provision, operation or maintenance of an essential service;
contrary
to an order made by the Minister under section 29, shall be guilty of an
offence.
PART
V
PROVISIONS WITH
RESPECT TO STRIKES, LOCK-OUTS ETC.
MINISTER
MAY ORDER INDUSTRIAL ACTION TO BE DISCONTINUED OR
DEFERRED
34. (1) Where it appears
to the Minister-
(a) that in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, industrial action, consisting in a strike, or irregular industrial action short of a strike, or a lock-out, has begun or is likely to begin; and
(b) that the condition stated in subsection (2) is fulfilled; and
(c) that it would-
(i) be conducive to a settlement of the dispute by conciliation or arbitration under this Act; or
(ii) assist in the exercise of its functions by a Commission of Inquiry set up in pursuance of section 38;
if the industrial action were discontinued or deferred;
(d) the Minister may make an Order directing that during the period for which the Order remains in force, no person or a member of a class of persons specified in the Order shall-
(i) call, organise, procure or finance a strike, or any irregular industrial action, or threaten to do so;
(ii) institute, carry on, organise, procure or finance a lock-out or threaten to do so.
(2)
The condition referred to in subsection (1)(b) is that the industrial action in
question has caused or would cause an interruption
in the supply of goods or in
the provision of services of such a nature, or on such a scale, as to be
likely-
(a) to be gravely injurious to the national economy, to imperil national security or to create a serious risk of public disorder; or
(b) to endanger the lives of a substantial number of persons, or expose a substantial number of persons to serious risk of disease or personal injury.
(3)
An Order under this section shall specify-
(a) the industry, undertaking (or a part thereof), and the description of workers in respect of which the Order is to have effect, or all or any of these matters;
(b) the persons or description of persons who are to be bound by the Order;
(c) the date on which the Order is to take effect and the period, not exceeding 60 days, for which the Order, unless revoked earlier, shall remain in force.
(4)
Any person contravening or failing to comply with any of the directions
contained in an Order under this section shall be guilty
of an
offence:
Provided that no
prosecution in respect of such offence shall be instituted except by, or at the
instance of, or with the written
consent of the Attorney
General.
(5) The immunity against
liability in tort conferred on a registered trade union or any other person by,
or in pursuance of, section
18 or 19 of the Trade Unions Act, Cap. 161 shall not
apply with respect to any act which constitutes an offence under this
section.
PEACEFUL
PICKETING
35. (1) It shall be
lawful for a person acting in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute to
attend-
(a) at or near his own place of work; or
(b) if he is an official of a registered trade union, at or near the place of work of a member of that union whom he is accompanying, for the purpose of peacefully obtaining or communicating information, or peacefully persuading any person to work or abstain from working.
(2)
If a person works or normally works-
(a) at more than 1 place; or
(b) at a place the location of which is such that attendance there for a purpose mentioned in subsection (1) in impracticable;
his
place of work, for the purpose of that subsection, shall be any premises of his
employer from which he works or from which his
work is
administered.
(3) In the case of a
worker who is not currently in employment and whose last employment was
terminated in connection with a trade
dispute, the reference to his lace of work
in subsection (1) shall be taken as a reference to his last place of
work.
(4) Notwithstanding anything
in section 18 or 19, of the Trade Unions Act, Cap. 161 the immunity conferred by
those sections shall
not prevent any act done in the course of picketing from
being actionable in tort unless such act is done in the course of attendance
declared lawful by subsection (1)
above.
(5) Nothing in this section
shall be taken to confer on any person the right to enter upon private property
against the will of the
owner.
SECONDARY
ACTION
36. (1) The immunity
conferred by sections 18 and 19 of the Trade Unions Act, Cap. 161 shall not
apply where a person induces a breach
of contract, other than a contract of
employment, by means of secondary action which does not satisfy the conditions
set out in subsection
(3).
(2) For
the purpose of this section there is secondary action in relation to a trade
dispute when, and only when, a person-
(a) induces another to break a contract of employment or interferes or induces another to interfere with its performance; or
(b) threatens that a contract of employment will be broken or interfered with or that he will induce another to do so,
if
the employer under the contract of employment is not a party to the trade
dispute.
(3) The conditions
referred to in subsection (1) are-
(a) that the purpose or principal purpose of the secondary action is directly to prevent or disrupt the supply during a trade dispute of goods or services between an employer who is a party to the dispute and an employer whose workers are taking the action, and the action is likely to achieve that purpose; or
(b) where the secondary action involves workers of associated employers of the employer in dispute or workers of their customers, that the purpose or principal purpose of the secondary action is directly to prevent or disrupt the supply during the dispute of goods or services from the associated employer to the customer, which but for the dispute would have been supplied by the employer in dispute, and the action is likely to achieve that purpose; or
(c) where the secondary action involves workers of associated employers of the employer in dispute or workers of their suppliers, that the purpose or principal purpose of the secondary action is directly to prevent or disrupt the supply during the dispute of goods or services to the associate employer from the supplier, which but for the dispute would have been supplied to the employer in dispute, and the action is likely to achieve that purpose; or
(d) that the secondary action is taken in the course of peaceful picketing declared lawful by section 35.
(4)
For the purpose of subsection (3)(b) and (c), any two employers are to be
treated as associated if one is a company of which the
other (directly or
indirectly) has control, or if both are companies of which a third person
(directly or indirectly) has
control.
INTIMIDATION
OR ANNOYANCE
37. Every person who,
with a view to compelling any other person to do or to abstain from doing any
act which such other person has
a right to do or abstain from doing, wrongfully
and without legal authority-
(a) uses violence to or intimidates such other person or his wife or children, or damages his property; or
(b) persistently follows such other person about from place to place; or
(c) hides any tools, clothes or other property owned or used by such other person, or deprives him of or hinders him in the use thereof; or
(d) watches or besets the house or other place where such person resides or works or carries on business or happens to be or the approach to such house or place; or
(e) follows such other person in disorderly manner in or through any street or road, shall be guilty of an offence.
Penalty:
a fine not exceeding VT100,000 and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3
years.
PART
VI
MISCELLANEOUS
THE
PRESIDENT MAY SET UP COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY INTO TRADE
DISPUTES
38. (1) Where a trade
dispute exists or is apprehended and-
(a) the dispute raises, in the opinion of the President, issues of grave importance to the national economy or any sector thereof or to the wellbeing of the community or any section thereof; and
(b) (i) all steps to bring about a settlement of such dispute by conciliation or arbitration under this Act, or by any other means, have failed; or
(ii) there is no reasonable prospect, in the opinion of the President, of bringing about a settlement of the dispute by such conciliation, arbitration or other means,
the
President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister, tendered after consultation
with the Labour Advisory Board, set up a Commission
of Inquiry to consider, and
report to him, on the causes of the dispute and the circumstances in which it
arose, and to make recommendations
in respect
thereof.
(2) A Commission of
Inquiry referred to in subsection (1) shall be set up, and proceed in accordance
with, and have all the powers
conferred upon it by, the law relating to the
setting up, procedure and powers of Commissions of
Inquiry.
CONSPIRACY
IN TRADE DISPUTES
39. (1) An
agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or procure to be done any
act in contemplation or furtherance of
a trade dispute shall not be punishable
as a conspiracy if such act committed by one person would not be punishable as a
crime.
(2) Nothing in subsection
(1) shall affect the law relating to riot, unlawful assembly, breach of the
peace, or sedition, or any offence
against the
State.
APPLICATION
OF THE ACT TO GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC
SERVICE
40. (1) Except as provided
in subsection (3) and subject to the modifications set out in subsection (2),
the provisions of this Act
shall apply in relation to-
(a) the Government and members of the public service of Vanuatu, and
(b) any registered trade union the majority or a substantial number of members of which consists of members of the public service of Vanuatu,
as
they apply to any other employer, person or registered trade
union.
(2) The modifications
mentioned in subsection (1) are as follows-
(a) except in sections 28, 29 and 33, the references to the Minister shall be taken as references to the Minister responsible for matters relating to public service;
(b) the functions of the Labour Advisory Board shall be exercised by the Public Service Commission;
(c) the powers and duties of the Commissioner of Labour shall vest in the Director of the Public Service Department;
(d) the powers and duties of a labour officer shall vest in the Director of the Public Service Department or an officer appointed by him for that purpose.
(3)
Nothing in this Act shall apply in relation to members of the armed forces,
police force or prison service.
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URL: http://www.paclii.org/vu/legis/consol_act/tda169