Privy Council Appeal No 0046 of 2023
JUDGMENT
Mitoonlal Persad and another (Appellants)
v
Registration, Recognition and Certification Board (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago)
From the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
before
Lord Reed
Lord Sales
Lord Stephens
Lady Simler
Lady Wise
JUDGMENT GIVEN ON
3 January 2025
Heard on 4 November 2024
Anand Beharrylal KC
Omar Sabbagh
Kiel Taklalsingh
Stefan Ramkissoon
(Instructed by Sovereign Chambers (Trinidad))
Respondent
Robert Strang
(Instructed by Charles Russell Speechlys LLP (London))
The Industrial Relations Act
"(3) All questions as to membership in good standing shall be determined by the Board, but a worker shall not be held to be a member in good standing, unless the Board is satisfied that –
(a) The union of which it is alleged the worker is a member in good standing has followed sound accounting procedures and practices;
(b) The particular worker has –
(i) Become a member of the union after having paid a reasonable sum by way of entrance fee and has actually paid reasonable sums by way of contributions for a continuous period of eight weeks immediately before the application was made or deemed to have been made; ......."
There are four matters in total about which the Board must be satisfied in terms of section 34(3), but only the first two arise for discussion in this case.
Practice Note No 2
"In order to satisfy the requirements of Section 34 of the Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 88:01, the records, documents and evidence to be furnished by the Trade Union and Employer shall be as follows:...."
Three separate sections follow, detailing the evidence to be provided by the Trade Union, the Employer and the Casual Worker respectively. Paragraph 3 of the section confirming the evidence to be provided by the Trade Union seeks:
"Evidence that the applicant paid the required entrance fee and contributions, by:
i) Entries on a Union's Collection Sheet which must include the actual dates moneys were received by the Collector showing the periods and dates covered by the individual payments;
ii) The Collection Sheet must be signed and dated by the Collector, and the entries therein must be made out by the Collector or other persons who collected moneys from the workers.
iii) Cash book/Day Book.
iv) Bank Book and/or Deposit Slips for stated periods."
The facts and the proceedings below
The appeal to this Board
"Once... it is a matter that falls within the functions and responsibilities of the Board then the Board can interpret and apply the Act in any way it thinks fit in relation to those functions and responsibilities. It may do so correctly or incorrectly and, if incorrectly, it is immune from being put right by any court. If, however, the error made does affect the jurisdiction of the Board then it may be put right, as, for example, if it seeks to deal with a matter outside of its functions and responsibilities. (South East Asia Fire Bricks Sdn Bhd v Non-Metallic Mineral Products Manufacturing Employees Union [1981] AC 363). Also, if it violates the rules of natural justice as for example, if it makes orders against a party without hearing that party or if one of its members has a real interest in the matter before it."