Union membership
A union is a body that represents the interests of workers in a particular industry or occupation.
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Membership of a union
All employees and independent contractors are free to choose to join or not join a union. This is also known as freedom of association.
It's illegal for a person to pressure another person about their choice to join or not join a union. For example:
- an employer can't pressure an employee
- a business can't pressure an independent contractor working with them.
It’s also illegal to take or threaten to take adverse action against a person for:
- being or not being a union member
- taking part or not taking part in industrial activity, or
- choosing to be represented, or not to be represented, by a union.
An adverse action against a person includes:
- dismissing them
- refusing to employ them
- changing their role to put them in a worse position
- changing their terms and conditions to put them in a worse position
- discriminating between them and other employees.
Freedom of association also extends to employers. They can choose whether to join an employer association or not.
Source reference: Fair Work Act 2009 s.342, 346, 350 and 772