Trade Unions Act 1940 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 7 · Funds and Accounts
47. Application of funds
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Subject to subsection (1A), the funds of a registered trade union may, subject to the rules thereof and to the provisions of this Act, be expended only for the following objects:
registered trade union
“registered trade union” means a trade union registered under this Act;
the payment of salaries, allowances and expenses to officers of the trade union;
the payment of expenses for the administration of the trade union, including audit of the accounts of the funds of the trade union;
the prosecution or defence of any legal proceeding to which the trade union or any member thereof is a party, when such prosecution or defence is undertaken for the purpose of securing or protecting any rights of the trade union as such or any rights arising out of the relations of any member with his employer or with a person whom the member employs;
the conduct of trade disputes on behalf of the trade union or any member thereof;
the compensation of members for loss arising out of trade disputes;
allowances to members or their dependants on account of death, old age, sickness, accidents or unemployment of such members;
any other object which the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be an object for which such funds may be expended.
Subsection (1) applies to a registered trade union which is a combined federation (F) with the following modifications:
a reference in subsection (1)(c) to the relations of any member with his employer or with a person whom the member employs includes a reference to the relations of —
any member of F who is a platform worker with any platform operator for whom the member provides a platform service; and
any member of F who is a platform operator with any platform worker who provides a platform service for the member;
a reference in subsection (1)(f) to the unemployment of a member includes a reference to the inability of a member of F who is a platform worker to provide any platform service.
Any moneys received for a specific purpose by a trade union from its members, which the members are liable to pay in accordance with its rules, shall not be used or applied for any other purpose without the requisite consent of the members of the trade union.
trade union
“trade union” means any association or combination of workmen or employers, whether temporary or permanent, whose principal object is to regulate relations between workmen and employers for all or any of the following purposes:(a)to promote good industrial relations between workmen and employers;(b)to improve the working conditions of workmen or enhance their economic and social status;(c)to achieve the raising of productivity for the benefit of workmen, employers and the economy of Singapore,and includes any federation;
Any moneys received for a specific purpose by a federation from its constituent trade unions, which the constituent trade unions are liable to pay to the federation in accordance with the rules of the federation, shall not be used or applied for any other purpose without the requisite consent of the constituent trade unions.
Any moneys received for a specific purpose by a combined federation from its constituent platform work associations, which the constituent platform work associations are liable to pay to the combined federation in accordance with the rules of the combined federation, shall not be used or applied for any other purpose without the requisite consent of the constituent platform work associations.
Within 7 days from the date the requisite consent referred to in subsection (2), (3) or (3A) is obtained, the secretary of the trade union concerned shall notify the Registrar of the consent and provide to the Registrar such information in respect of the consent as the Registrar may require.
Registrar
“Registrar” means the person for the time being appointed by the Minister under section 3 by name or by office to be or to act as Registrar of Trade Unions, and includes any person appointed by the Minister under section 4 to be or to act as an Assistant Registrar of Trade Unions;