Union delegates would have the right to approach colleagues to recruit them rather than just represent their interests if an ACTU submission to the Fair Work Commission is adopted.
Union delegates would have the right to approach colleagues to recruit them as members under an ACTU bid that could boost numbers in industries with low membership following Labor’s recent workplace reforms.
As part of the Fair Work Commission’s awards overhaul to include delegates’ rights, the Australian Council of Trade Unions wants a model clause included for all industries that includes a right to “communicate with persons eligible to be union members about joining the union”. Opposition industrial relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said freedom of association meant Australians had a right “not to join or to join a union”.
Jessica Tinsley, director of workplace relations at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the recent legislation states delegates are only entitled to reasonable communication with employees about their industrial interests.