O’Connell v Building and Allied Trades’ Union, Edward Morris, Patrick O’Shaughnessy and Michael McNamara and the Construction Industry Federation

Posted In: Case Law
  • Case Reference
    IESCDET 22 (SC)
  • Legal Body
    Irish Supreme Court (IESC)
  • Type of Claim / Jurisdiction
    Collective and Trade Union Issues
Issues covered: Trade union membership; Closed shop; Constitutional right to work

Introduction

This case (which has been subject to appeals - see [2014] IEHC 360; [2015] 26 ELR 173 (HC); [2016] IECA 338 (CA); : [2017] IESCDET 22 (SC)) illustrates the interaction between the closed shop and the Constitutional right to work. It demonstrates that while a union is entitled to approach an employer and ask that employer to engage only union members, and the employer is entitled to enter into an agreement with the union to that effect, the union cannot then wrongfully refuse membership to a qualified applicant and yet enforce the closed shop.

Background

The plaintiff in this case was a block layer who had been a member of the first defendant, the building and Allied trades

Already a subscriber?

Click here to login and access the full article.

Don't miss out, register today!

Are you fully aware of the benefits of Legal-Island's Irish Employment Law Hub? We help thousands of people like you understand how the latest changes in Irish employment law impact your business through a mix of case law analysis and in-depth articles. All delivered right to your inbox.

We help you to understand the ramifications of each important case from Ireland and Europe.

We help you ensure that your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with Irish law.

You will receive regular updates on Irish employment law including case law reviews, legislative changes, topical updates as well as answers to your burning questions through our Q&A feature.

You will have 24/7 access to the Employment Law Hub so you can research case law and HR issues when you need to.

Already a subscriber, now or Register

This article is correct at 29/03/2017
Disclaimer:

The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.

Cathy Maguire BL
Barrister

The main content of this article was provided by Cathy Maguire BL. Contact telephone number is +353 1 817 2831 or email cathymaguire@eircom.net

View all articles by Cathy Maguire BL