A bureau which shall be known as the Labor Union Services Bureau is hereby created in the Department of Labor and Human Resources, which shall carry out and render, upon request of the labor unions, the following functions and services:
(1) To design and install accounting systems for the use of labor unions.
(2) To audit accounts to determine the correctness of financial operations and accounting.
(3) To prepare financial statements used by the labor unions to comply with the requirements of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act and the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act, as well as to substantiate applications for economic assistance under the Labor Unions Economic and Technical Assistance Program.
(4) To review the accounting books to determine the correctness of the entries thereon.
(5) To give advice on accounting matters, on its own initiative and at the request of labor organizations.
(6) In harmony with the decisions made by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, to provide economic assistance to labor unions on the basis of the matching of funds for purposes of labor education, travels abroad to the end of exchanging experiences that will improve the operation of the labor organizations of Puerto Rico; coordination and implementation of welfare, insurance, information and public relations plans, as well as to make statistical, economic and actuarial surveys aimed at augmenting the bargaining power of labor organizations at the collective bargaining table. This economic assistance shall be furnished by following the recommendations of the Advisory Board on Labor Unions Economic Assistance and the decisions the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may make in the light of these recommendations.
(7) To assist labor unions to prepare and process applications for services rendered by government and private agencies related to housing projects, health plans, vacation and recreation facilities, cultural and educational projects, and other services of interest to the unions.
(8) To analyze the problems of administrative and operational nature of labor unions and to offer advice in the solution of these problems, especially to improve the organizational structure and to put into effect new systems and working procedures.
(9) To offer syndical education services to members, officers and union leaders through seminars, forums, motion pictures and television and radio programs.
(10) In coordination with the Information and Public Relations Office of the Department of Labor and Human Resources, and with the collaboration of the technical personnel of said office, to prepare publications of an educational nature in the labor field, and to assist labor unions in the preparation of similar publications.
(11) To administer a scholarship fund for the training of workers and labor leaders.
(12) To provide adequate orientation and guidance with regard to everything related to the constitution, organization and development of labor unions.
(13) To develop activities to promote the services to be rendered by the Bureau and to encourage labor unions to use such services.
The aforementioned services shall be rendered according to the particular needs and the financial capability of the applicant unions.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 155, Part 1, p. 708, § 1; July 20, 1979, No. 164, p. 416, § 1.