Fee Adjustment to Keep Us Doing Our Essential Work
The SDA continues to work hard at providing professional union representation, running campaigns on issues that matter to members, getting results and providing a range of value for money member services and benefits. We work for better pay and conditions; help with issues at work; safer workplaces and every day benefits for SDA members.
During the pandemic your union has remained at work for you, our essential workers.
Since the COVID pandemic we have also been working hard to make sure SDA members get recognised for the essential work you do.
We have been working to have you treated with respect, keep you safe during COVID, secure more money in your pocket, support you in the workplace and continue to provide a wide range of services and benefits.
Since COVID hit, together we have:
Campaigned for respect for SDA members as essential workers including:
- The SDA NODAS campaign against customer abuse
- Spitting and coughing laws to protect retail workers with penalties of up to $5,000 fines and up to six months jail
- Raising the profile of SDA members with recognition as essential workers
- Arguing for priority access to COVID vaccines for you
- Running the ‘Thank a Retail worker’ campaign
Campaigned to keep you safe at work during the pandemic:
- Promoting the SDA 10-Point Safety Plan
- Winning plexiglass screens in stores
- Winning the right to access alcohol-based hand sanitisers
- Winning fines and jail terms for customers who spit and cough on retail workers
- Making changes to WHS laws including the recent new code on psychological workplace hazards
- Calling for all customers to wear masks and keep you safe
Campaigned to put more money in your pocket:
- Last year secured 1.75% pay rise when other frontline essential service workers (including nurses) were restricted to a 0.3% increase.
- This year won a further 2.5% pay rise through our SDA ‘Payrise is Essential’ campaign.
- Secured ‘Thank You’ and recognition payments in a range of companies for your work during the pandemic.
- Secured JobKeeper payments for members whose stores temporarily closed
- Kept Anzac Day a public holiday in the ACT where the public holiday was set to move to the Monday
Helped Members with countless issues at work including
- Securing millions of dollars for retail, fast food and warehouse workers in underpayments, unfair dismissals settlements and workers compensation cases
- Winning scores of members their jobs back who have been unfairly dismissed
- Taking up hundreds of members roster issues
- Helping members with the complexities of workers compensation laws with local legal representation
Whilst still providing our broad range of services and benefits:
- Bargaining for fair pay and conditions
- Defending penalty rates and increasing casual penalty rates
- Maintaining hard fought for SDA conditions
- Supporting members with workplace issues through SDA Delegates and local SDA Organisers
- Taking action in the Fair Work Commission to protect members interests with employers big and small; from supermarkets to fashion stores; from individual issues to collective fights
- Being our members friend in the workplace
- Journey insurance to cover members on the way to and from work
- Lobbying governments and regulators for improvements in WHS including recent trials to reduce customer abuse and improvements to safety guidelines for work in hot environments
- Regular updates on issues that matter by SMS, email, your SDA noticeboard and the SDA magazine
- Member events like Family Days, Pink Ribbon Charity events and Union Picnic Days
- SDA offers the largest range of services and benefits available to any Union members in Australia
All of this work that we do together is done in an increasingly challenging environment. To keep us able to do our essential work supporting you, our essential members, a modest fee adjustment to your SDA member fees will take effect in July of between 30 cents to 80 cents per week.
Union fees have not increased since 1 July 2021.
The new fees (from 1 July 2023) are as follows:
| Hours per week | Weekly fee |
|---|---|
| Less than 10 hours | $4.50 (up 30c) |
| 10 hours to less than 20 hours | $8.05 (up 55c) |
| 20 hours per week or more | $11.30 (up 80c) |
And don’t forget, your union fees are tax deductible.
Members First
Professional representation better pay and conditions, campaigns on issues that matter to members, safer workplaces, help when you need it and delivering relevant services and benefits is what the SDA is all about.
We set out to do this every day in many ways for our members.
Union fees cover the cost of running the SDA, servicing members and defending your hard won rights and entitlements. Remember it’s your membership that helps us fight to protect your pay and conditions. This fee adjustment will enable us to continue to improve what we do together on a sound financial basis as we fight to win the respect all of our essential members deserve.
If you have any questions about the fee increase speak to your workplace Delegate, Organiser or the SDA Information Centre on 131 SDA (that’s 131 732).
Friday, July 16, 2021
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