The Federal Government has taken an unwelcome paternalistic view on whether union dues can be deducted directly from public servants’ pay packets.
The Department of Industrial Relations has sent a memo to all departments recognising that unions can constructively contribute to workplace relations, “Accordingly, the Government has decided, so long as unions act responsibly in the workplace, that access by individual unions to payroll deduction of union dues will continue.”
If you don’t eat your brussel spouts you can’t have any ice-cream.
Two weeks ago, the Minister for Industrial Relations, Peter Reith, had the right approach. He said automatic deduction of union dues would cease and that individual public servants would have to formally confirm whether they wanted deducations taken directly out of their pay and sent to the union.
It should have been left at that. In these days of electronic banking employers rightly insist that all employees be paid electronically and not in cash. Cash carries higher risk and greater cost. However, electronic banking carries some cost for employees if they have to move money between accounts. It is only reasonable, therefore, that employees be able to nominate four or five electronic destinations for their money. One might be a standard account; another be a mortgage and yet another can be the union.
The Government does not inquire whether a bank is behaving “”responsibly” before allowing an employee to direct money to it. It is a matter between the employee and the entity to which he or she wants the money directed and none of the Government’s business.
The Government was right to insist that employees give permission individually for the union dues to be transferred electronically from pay, rather than the old automatic, compulsory deduction. But that benefit for the Government comes at the price of allowing employees to determine where the funds are directed.