What is Freedom of Association ?
‘Freedom of Association’ is the right to join and be a part of any group or even leave it without the need for any kinds of approvals or permissions from the company where the employee is working.
It is one of the fundamental rights of an employee and multiple countries even have specific laws in place to protect this right of an employee. For example, the Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organization directly address this basic right of an employee.
This freedom comes into play generally when an employee is questioned regarding their union related activities as well as association with any specific trade union or political parties.