Information Centre
Catalogue
Labour Review
Ask Neale
Book a cottage @ Currawong Beach
Labor Links

What's Going On?
Events
Circulars
Todays Meetings
Minutes

Annual Reports
Latest Reports
Past Reports

printer-friendly version

About Unions

What is a Union?

Put simply, a union is an organisation set up by employees to assist them in the workplace. As a collective organisation, people who are members, generally will all have the same interests and therefore, through working together, have improved bargaining power.

Unions are small enough to talk to your employer about your pay but big enough to talk to governments about a fair wage for all employees. The union is also able to follow up issues like back pay, overtime, and unfair dismissal.

In Australia, any employee from any industry is eligible to join a union (except members of the Defence Force). Unions are run by people who are elected by the members of the union.

"Trade unions are, to varying degrees, centres of power: they replace the powerlessness of individual workers with collective strength" (Hancock Report).

Why Join a Union?

The more employees who stick together makes the union stronger and therefore able to achieve more when bargaining for improved working conditions. If your workplace is highly unionised, then you as a union member, have more power.

Union membership is important because it can help you avoid the ‘pitfalls’ of being a new employee and ensuring you are getting the right pay and working in a safe environment.

Unions are also able to offer other expensive services such as legal advice and representation, so that if you need to take your employer to court, you have resources available to you. Some unions even offer other services such as travel discounts.

Some of the things unions have achieved over many years with the assistance of many thousands of members include:

• Occupational Health and Safety Laws
• Workers' Compensation
• Annual Holidays
• Superannuation
• Medicare
• The award system, which ensures that at least minimum conditions are met
• Types of Leave including long service, parental, sick, bereavement or carers’
• Paid Public Holidays
• 38 hour week
• Penalty rates for overtime and weekend work
• Workplace amenities such as lunch rooms, showers, change rooms, lockers and hot and cold running water depending on the industry

While it may seem incredible today, employers strongly resisted granting benefits such as these that we now take for granted as an employee's right.

Joining a union will mean you can assist your fellow employees in fighting for improved workplace rights, including paid maternity leave and job security, two campaigns that Australian trade unions are presently arguing for.

For more information on what you rights at work are Ask Neale http://www.labor.net.au/askneale

To join a union click here http://www.labor.net.au/join.html

© Unions NSW 2001.
Unions NSW
Level 3, 4-10 Goulburn St,
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9881 5999 Fax: (02) 9261 3505

URL: http://council.labor.net.au/about_us/unions.html
Last Modified: Wednesday, 08-Nov-2006 16:11:17 EST

Unions NSW is proudly created, designed and programmed by
Social Change Online for Unions NSW