Union Fee Increase

Arising from a National Executive decision in February 2017, there will be an increase in union fees, operative from 1 July 2017. New fees will be as follows:

Weekly rates for hours are averaged over a two-week cycle.

Note that the rate for “less than 10 hours per week” remains unchanged.

Reason For Fee Increase

As well as our usual day-to-day work, the SDA has spent a lot of time, money and energy to improve and protect the entitlements of our members, including:

• Easter Sunday: The SDA has spent much time, effort and money in successfully lobbying for Easter Sunday to be made a public holiday in Victoria.
• Christmas Day Public Holiday: The SDA successfully lobbied for Christmas Day to be made a public holiday last year and is continuing to lobby to get this problem fixed permanently. It will arise again in 2021 and 2022.
• 100% Pay: The SDA has spent much time, effort and money (including engaging an industrial barrister) to win adult rates of pay at 20 years of age for retail workers. 
• Three-Hour Minimum: The SDA has spent much time, effort and money (including engaging an industrial barrister) in defending the three hour minimum payment for casual workers.
• Penalty Rates: The SDA has had to defend penalty rates against attacks by employers three times — in 2008, in 2012, and in the recent 2014 case. The SDA has spent substantial sums of money engaging the best industrial barrister and producing the best expert witnesses to defend penalty rates from employer attacks. Unfortunately, the employers have been successful on this occasion under the Turnbull Liberal Government in slashing Sunday and public holiday penalty rates. These are cuts our members cannot afford and do not deserve. The SDA is taking action in the Federal Court of Australia arguing to stop the penalty rate cuts.
• Paid Parental Leave: The SDA has lobbied Members of Parliament and has been successful in stopping the cuts in paid parental leave.
• Days in Lieu of Public Holidays: The SDA is arguing in the award for a day in lieu when a public holiday falls on a non working day  (most enterprise agreements have this).
• Blood Donor Leave: The SDA is arguing in the award for two hours’ paid time off to donate blood four times a year (most enterprise agreements have this).

Our day-to-day work involves a number of activities including:

• Defending members’ wages and conditions in award reviews;
• Negotiating Enterprise Agreements;
• Servicing 50,000 members across some 3,000 sites throughout Victoria;
• Offering the widest possible range of services and benefits available to any union member;
• Producing a wide range of publications such as the Union Journal and other information leaflets/booklets which are provided free of charge to members;
• Lobbying State and Federal governments over issues and matters that impact on our members and their families;
• Representing members both individually and collectively in various tribunals and courts.

The SDA operates in a challenging industrial relations environment, and if we wish to continue meeting these challenges and protecting members’ wages and conditions the fee increase from 1 July 2017 is a necessity. The Union is confident that our new fee levels will enable us to continue to function on a sound financial basis.

Tax Deduction

There are many benefits to being a member of a trade union — one benefit is that union fees are tax deductible for those members who pay tax. In other words, the cost of paying fees is discounted by an amount equal to your marginal tax rate. So don’t forget to claim your fees when you submit your tax return.

Other Unions' Fees

The SDA’s fees — even after this increase — are modest compared to other unions and, unlike some unions, we have a special scale so that if you work fewer hours, union fees are less.

Note that a casual who does not receive hours of work does not pay union fees.

They only pay in the fortnights they work.