Not a Trade Union Body like a Trade Union Body (Legal, Linguistic and Application Pitfalls of Terminology in Collective Labour Law Relations)

Abstract

Working for a trade union can take many forms. The Slovak Labour Code labels these forms in various terms, for example: ‘trade union function’, ‘a function in a trade union body’, ‘trade union activity’, ‘representative of employees function’, ‘trade union body member’ or ‘particular trade union body member’, without giving a legal definition of them nor characterizing them in detail. The meaning of these terms can only be assumed and deduced from the internal trade union documents and from the purpose of a particular labour law institute. The aim of the paper is to point out the ambiguity and inaccuracy of the basic terminology used in collective labour law relations and, based on the authors’ own application practice, to propose an approved interpretation of the mentioned terms.

Keywords

• labour law
• unambiguity
• concept
• term
• trade union organization
• perform in trade-union office
• trade union body
• employee representatives
• the slovak republic