ROCK AND ORE MILLING AND REFINING (STATE) AWARD
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by The Australian Workers' Union, New South
Wales, industrial organisations of employees.
(Nos. IRC 637 of 2003)
Commissioner Ritchie
|
12 March 2003
|
VARIATION
1. Insert in
numerical order in the Arrangement - of the award published 27 July 2001 (326
I.G. 429) the following new clause number and subject matter:
28A. Deduction of
Union Membership Fees
2. Insert after
clause 28, Anti-Discrimination and Harassment the following new clause:
28A. 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:
(a) 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 12 March 2003;
(b) In the case of
employers who do not fall within subparagraph (a) above, but who currently make
deductions, other than union membership fees 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 12 June 2003;
(c) For all other
employers, from the beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after
12 September 2003.
3. This
variation shall take effect from the first full pay period commencing on or
after 12 March 2003, and shall remain in force for a period of 12 months.
D. W. RITCHIE, Commissioner.
____________________
Printed by the
authority of the Industrial Registrar.