SUGAR FIELD WORKERS (STATE) CONSOLIDATED AWARD

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Application by The Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales, industrial organisation of employees.

 

(No. IRC 1359 of 2003)

 

 

VARIATION

 

1.          Insert in numerical order in the arrangement of the award published 16 March 2001 (323 I.G. 64) the following new clause number and subject matter:

 

27A.  Deduction of Union Membership Fees

 

2.          Insert after clause 27, Area, Incidence and Duration, the following new clause:

 

27A.  Deduction of Union Membership Fees

 

(i)         The employer shall deduct 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 deductions 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 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.

 

(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 or fortnightly basis, the employer shall be entitled to retain up to five per cent of the monies deducted; and

 

(b)        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.

 

(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 an 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)     This clause 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 11 April 2003.

 

(ii)        In the case of employers who do not fall within subparagraph (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 11 July 2003.

 

(iii)       For all other employers, from the beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after 11 October 2003.

 

3.          This variation shall take effect from the first full pay period commencing on or after 11 April 2003.

 

 

L. C. GLYNN  J.

 

 

 

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Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.