DRY CLEANING (STATE) AWARD
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by Transport
Workers' Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch, industrial organisation of
employees.
(No. IRC 937 of 2003)
Before Commissioner
McKenna
|
13 March 2003
|
VARIATION
1. Insert in
numerical order in clause 2, Arrangement of the award published 30 November
2001 (329 I.G. 1111) the following new clause 16A.
16A. Deduction of
Union Membership Fees
2. Insert after
clause 16, Payment of Wages the following new clause.
16A. Deduction of
Union Membership Fees
16A.1 The employer shall
deduct Union membership fees (not including fines or levies) from the pay of
any employee, provided that:
16A.1.1 the
employee has authorised the employer to make such deductions in accordance with
subclause 16A.2 herein;
16A.1.2 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;
16A.1.3 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
16A.1.4 there
shall be no requirement to make deductions for casual employees with less than
two months’ service (continuous or otherwise).
16A.2 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 employee’s consent
to do so. Such consent may form part of the written authorisation.
16A.3 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:
16A.3.1 where
the employer has elected to remit on a weekly or fortnightly basis, the
employer shall be entitled to retain up to five per cent of the monies
deducted; and
16A.3.2 where
the employer has elected to remit on a monthly or quarterly basis, the employer
shall be entitled to retain up to 2.5 per cent of the monies deducted.
16A.4 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.
16A.5 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 or
monthly as the case may be. The Union
shall give the employer a minimum of two months’ notice of any such change.
16A.6 An employee may at
any time revoke in writing an authorisation to the employer to make payroll
deductions of Union membership fees.
16A.7 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.
2. The above
variations shall take effect:
(i) In the 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 13 March 2003;
(ii) In the case
of employers who do not fall within sub-paragraph (i) 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 13 June 2003;
(iii) For all other
employers, from the beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after
13 September 2003.
D. S. McKENNA, Commissioner.
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.