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69Q: Bargaining fee clause does not come into force unless agreed to first by employer and union and then by secret ballot
or “The boss and union must agree on a fee, then workers vote secretly to approve it.”
You could also call this:

“If a bargaining fee is agreed upon, the boss must tell workers about it and explain how it affects their job and pay.”

If a bargaining fee clause is agreed to in a secret ballot, your employer must give you a copy of the collective agreement that includes this clause. They also need to tell you in writing about some important things.

Your employer will let you know that your work terms and conditions will be the same as those in the collective agreement. This includes having to pay a bargaining fee. These terms will start either when a certain time period ends or when the collective agreement begins, whichever is later.

Your employer will tell you how much the bargaining fee is and that it will be taken out of your wages.

If you don’t want to pay the bargaining fee, you can tell your employer in writing. You need to do this within a certain time, which is stated in the collective agreement.

If you tell your employer that you don’t agree to pay the bargaining fee, then the bargaining fee clause won’t apply to you. Your work terms and conditions will stay the same until you and your employer agree to change them.

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Next up: 69S: Which employees bargaining fee clause applies to

or “Non-union workers covered by a collective agreement must pay a bargaining fee if they meet certain conditions.”
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Part 6B Bargaining fees

69REmployer to notify employees if bargaining fee clause agreed to

  1. If a bargaining fee clause is agreed to in a secret ballot, the employer must provide the employees referred to in section 69S(a) to (c) with a copy of the collective agreement that contains the bargaining fee clause and notify them in writing that—

  2. their terms and conditions of employment will comprise the terms and conditions of employment specified in the collective agreement (including the obligation to pay a bargaining fee) on and from the later of the following:
    1. the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph (c); or
      1. the date on which the collective agreement comes into force; and
      2. the bargaining fee will be deducted from their wages, specifying the amount of the bargaining fee; and
        1. if an employee does not wish to pay the bargaining fee, the employee must notify the employer in writing within the period specified in the collective agreement for that purpose that the employee does not agree to pay the bargaining fee.

          1. If an employee notifies his or her employer that the employee does not agree to pay the bargaining fee,—

          2. the bargaining fee clause does not apply to the employee; and
            1. the employee's terms and conditions of employment remain the same until such time as varied by agreement with the employer.

              Notes
              • Section 69R: inserted, on , by section 30 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).