Trade Unions Act (Mercia)

Trade Unions Act
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This Bill: Will establish the legal conduct by which working Subjects and Nobles may become unionised to campaign for better rights in the Mercian Parliament House and the Gorsedhs. This Bill will also state the legal constraints of the Trade Union body, and the extent to which the Trade Union may operate autonomously of Mercian Lordly and governmental authority.
Date commenced	7th November 2015
Amendments
3rd September Companies Act
Related legislation
Rights of the Subject Act
Status: Substantially amended

The Trade Unions Act is an Act of the Parliament of Mercia that legally defined trade unions and set in law their right to form and campaign for working conditions and higher rates of pay. It was subsequently amended by Chapter 1(1) of the Companies Act.

It was decreed prior to the passage of the Partisan Democracy Act, so the original bill was passed by the Mercian Parliament that was fully appointed by the Lords rather than the elected body that came after. The amendment, however, was passed by the elected parliament.

Legislation

Section 1 enables any group of Mercian citizens, provided they are at least "three in number" and "share the same or a similar career", to form a trade union. They are required to provide "notification" to one of the Lords of Mercia, the Mercian Parliament or a member of the Cabinet of Mercia before so doing.

Section 2 requires that any trade union have a single member serve as the Chair of that trade union, and that the said same position must be re-elected every three months.

Section 3 gives the Chair of any trade union the right to sit in on meetings of Parliament and take part in debates.

Section 4 prevents the Chair in Parliament from having the power to vote in meetings, excepting occasions in which they are already also a "Noble".

Section 5 gives the Chair of any trade union the right to sit in on meetings of any "Clyran Gorsedh".

Section 6 prevents the Chair of a trade union in any Gorsedh from voting on motions, unless they are already a member of that Gorsedh.

Section 7 makes it an offense for trade unions to endorse or support sectarian movements that threaten the sovereignty of the Lords of Mercia. It also allows the government to abolish trade unions that contravene this policy, as well as provides for the criminal prosecution of individuals involved.

Section 8, despite Section 7, allows trade unions to campaign for democratic reform in Mercia provided they do not threaten the sovereignty of the Lords.

Section 9 sets out a number of other things trade unions may campaign for:

• "The integrity of their relevant trades";
• "The establishment of wage and workplace benefits for the workers they represent";
• "The establishment of trade standards in the trade they represent";
• "Combating child labour";
• "Establishing systems of care and charity for workers in the trade they represent";
• "Representing workers in the trade they represent in both the public and private sector";
• "Upholding the system of constitutional monarchist democracy that is prevalent in the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Council of the Diarchal Crowns of the Disciples at the time of writing".

Section 10 allows trade unions to organize their respective deliberative processes at their own recognizance, provided they are organized democratically and on a basis of "equal representation" to all members. It provides for abolishment and personal prosecution of trade unions and individuals who contravene this law, respectively.

Chapter 1(1) of the Companies Act created a new Section 11, granting trade unions the right to organize strike action provided warning has been given to the employer in question 48 hours prior to the start of the strike action. It also allowed for prosecution of individuals who attempted to "violently", "coercively" or "in any other way" prevent employees from going into work, whether on behalf of a trade union or independently.