ELECTRICIANS, &c. (STATE) AWARD
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by Electrical
Trades Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch, industrial organisation of
employees.
(No. IRC 3880 of 2003)
Before The Honourable
Justice Walton, Vice-President
|
4 September 2003
|
VARIATION
1. Insert in
numerical order in the Arrangement of the award published 29 June 2001(325 IG
808), the following new clause number and subject matter:
38. Deduction of Union Membership Fees
2. Insert after
clause 37, Area, Incidence and Duration, the following new clause 38:
38. Deduction of
Union Membership Fees
(i) The employer
shall deduct the union membership fees (not including fines or levies) from the
pay of any employee, provided that:
(a) The employee
has authorised the employer to make such deduction in accordance with subclause
(ii) herein;
(b) The Union
shall advise the employer of the amount to be deducted for each pay period
applying at the employer’s workplace and any changes to that amount;
(c) Deduction of
union membership fees shall only occur in each pay period in which payment has
or is to be made to an employee; and
(d) There shall be
no requirement to make deductions for casual employees with less than two months’
service (continuous or otherwise).
(ii) The
employee’s authorisation shall be in writing and shall authorise the deduction
of an amount of Union fees (including any variation in that fee effected in
accordance with the Union’s rules) that the Union advises the employer to
deduct. Where the employee passes any such written authorisation to the Union,
the Union shall not pass the written authorisation on to the employer without
first obtaining the employees consent to do so. Such consent may form a part of
the written authorisation.
(iii) Monies so
deducted from employees’ pay shall be remitted to the Union on either a weekly,
fortnightly, monthly or quarterly basis at the employer’s election, together
with all necessary information to enable the reconciliation and crediting of
subscriptions to employees’ membership accounts, provided that:
(a) where the
employer has elected to remit on a weekly of fortnightly basis, the employer
shall be entitled to retain up to five percent of the monies deducted; and
(b) where the
employer has elected to remit on a monthly or quarter basis, the employer shall
be entitled to retain up to 2.5 per cent of the monies deducted.
(iv) Where an
employee has already authorised the deduction of Union membership fees in
writing from his or her pay prior to this clause taking effect, nothing in this
clause shall be read as requiring the employee to make a fresh authorisation in
order for such deductions to commence or continue.
(v) The Union
shall advise the employer of any change to the amount of membership fees made
under its rules, provided that this does not occur more than once in any
calendar year. Such advice shall be in the form of a schedule of fees to be
deducted specifying either weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or quarterly as the
case may be. The Union shall give the employer a minimum of two months’ notice
of any such change.
(vi) An employee
may at any time revoke in writing authorisation to the employer to make payroll
deductions of Union membership fees.
(vii) Where an
employee who is a member of the Union and who has authorised the employer to
make payroll deductions of Union membership fees resigns his or her membership
of the Union in accordance with the rules of the Union, the Union shall inform
the employee in writing of the need to revoke the authorisation to the employer
in order for payroll deductions of union membership fees to cease.
(viii) The above
variations shall take effect:
(a) In case of
employers which currently deduct union membership fees, or whose payroll
facilities are carried out by way of an outsourcing arrangement, or whose
payroll calculations are made through the use of computerised means, from the
beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after 4 September 2003.
(b) In the case of
employers who do not fall within subparagraph (above, but who currently make
deductions, other than union membership fee deductions or mandatory deductions
(such as for taxation instalments or superannuation contributions) from
employees’ pay, or have in place facilities to make such deductions, from the
beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after 4 December 2003.
(c) For all other
employers, from the beginning of the first pay commence on or after 4 March
2004.
3. This
variation shall take effect from the first full pay period to commence on or
after 4 September 2003.
M. J. WALTON J,
Vice-President.
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.