Cap. 452 Art. 64Acts in contemplation or furtherance of trade disputes.

(1) An act done by a person in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute shall not be actionable in tort or quasi-tort on the grounds only -

(a) that it induces another person to break a contract of employment; or

(b) that it consists in his threatening that a contract of employment (whether one to which he is a party or not) will be broken or that he will induce another person to break a contract of employment to which that other person is a party; or

(c) that it is an interference with the trade, business or employment of another person, or with the right of another person to dispose of his capital or his labour as he wills.

(2) An act which by reason of sub-article (1) is itself not actionable, and a breach of contract in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute, shall not be regarded as the doing of an unlawful act or as the use of unlawful means for the purposes of establishing liability in tort or quasi-tort.

(3) An agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or procure the doing of any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute shall not be actionable in tort or quasi-tort if the act is one which, if done without any such agreement or combination, would not be actionable in tort or quasi-tort.

(4) An act done by a person in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute and in pursuance of a directive issued by a trade union, whether he belongs to it or not, shall not be actionable in damages on the ground only that it consists in a breach of a contract of employment; and any act done as aforesaid, not being an act in breach of a collective agreement, or of a settlement, decision or agreement which is still binding in accordance with the provisions of article 70 or 72, or of a decision or award of the Tribunal, shall not by itself entitle the employer to terminate the contract of employment of, or discriminate against, any person doing any such act as aforesaid, and shall not constitute a break in the service of such person.

(5) The provisions of article 338(t) of the Criminal Code shall not apply to any agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or procure the doing of any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute.

(6) Sub-article (4) shall not apply to:

(a) persons employed as Air Traffic Controllers at the Malta International Airport and in the Airport Fire Fighting Section of the said airport;

(b) members of the Assistance and Rescue Force established by virtue of article 8 of the Civil Protection Act;

(c) persons employed to provide pilotage and mooring, tug services, fire fighting, medical health services and pollution combating services as may be required in cases of port emergency;

(d) such minimum number of persons needed to guarantee that life is not endangered through the non import or discharge into Malta of wheat, grain, domestic gas, aviation fuel, diesel and petrol and oil fuel for the operation of air transport facilities and power generation and water facilities, as agreed upon by their respective employer and the recognised trade union or in default of such agreement, as shall be decided by the appropriate controlling body or in the absence of such body, the Industrial Tribunal;

(e) such minimum number of persons as may be required to guarantee the combined production, provision and distribution of water and electricity, as agreed upon by their respective employer and the recognised trade union or in default of such agreement, as shall be decided by the Industrial Tribunal;

(f) such number of persons as may be required to maintain the continued and uninterrupted services listed in the Schedule to this Act and required to be manned at all times for the continued provision by the Government of essential services to the community;

(g) such number of persons in such posts as the Minister may by notice in the Gazette prescribe, as being necessary to provide service at the level of one-half of the public passenger transport services in Malta and Gozo and one-half of the scheduled public ferry services between Malta and Gozo and it shall be deemed to be an implied condition of the contract of employment of any employee employed in the public passenger transport services and scheduled ferry transport services that the said employee shall be obliged to perform duties as directed by the employer thereof in order to constitute the number designated as aforesaid and any employee failing to perform such duties without justification shall be liable to dismissal: Provided that, for the purposes of subparagraphs (d) and (e) if no agreement is reached as aforesaid within a period of one month from the date of coming into force of this Act, the matter shall be referred to the appropriate controlling body or Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, at the request of any one of the parties: Provided further that for the purpose of paragraph (g) the term "public passenger transport services" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Authority for Transport in

Malta Act.

(7) Where the number of public officers holding or employed in any of the offices aforesaid is greater than the number indicated in the said Schedule as essentially required, sub-article (6) shall apply only to the more senior among those officers who together make up that number (excluding only any of them who are on leave authorised expressly for the purposes of this sub-article, and only while they are so on leave), seniority being determined by any seniority inherent in the office itself or, in the absence of such seniority, by the length of the officers’ service in the office held by them or in which they are employed at the relevant time, and in cases of equal lengths of service by the age of the officers having the same length of service.

(8) Any public officer to whom, by virtue of sub-articles (6) and (7), sub-article (4) does not apply, shall have his service with the Government terminated forthwith if, in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute or of any other action taken by two or more public officers or other workers (whether or not in pursuance of a directive issued by a trade union), or in support thereof or in sympathy therewith, such officer refuses or otherwise fails to carry out those duties that are necessary for the continued provision of the essential service, in accordance with this Act and with the terms of service or conditions of employment and under the direction of the competent authorities of the Government.

(9) The Schedule to this Act may be altered, added to or otherwise amended -

(a) by a resolution of the House of Representatives; or

(b) by the Prime Minister by order in the Gazette: Provided that an order as aforesaid may not increase the total number of officers in Category A to more than forty-five (45); in Category B to more than one hundred (100) and in Category C to more than two hundred and twenty-five (225).