UNDERSTANDING THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AT THE WORKPLACE: COMPONENTS AND SCOPE

Freedom of association is one of the most important fundamental rights entrenched in a number of legal international and domestic instruments, especially the International Labour Organization (“ILO”) Conventions, national constitutions and labour legislation.The right to freedom of association can be exercised in different sectors of human activity. It is also critical to the workplace. However, despite its widespread “veneration”, the right to freedom of association remains a contested concept. It does not mean the same thing for employees and employers and defining it remains a challenge even among labour lawyers and analysts. It is against this background that the paper strives to examine the meaning, contents and scope of the right to freedom of association.