The union is all of us, working together for a better life
Unions play a very important role – in the workplace and in the community more broadly. Union membership gives you access to professional, independent, confidential advice about any workplace matter and support when things don’t go to plan at work. If you’re offered a new contract, your workplace is going through significant change, or you’re not sure of your rights or entitlements, professional support and advice is only a phone call away.
Often, the issues of most concern for workers in the finance industry are not individual issues – for example unpaid overtime, unrealistic targets or organisational change don’t impact just one person, but everyone in a team, department or workplace. These sorts of issues are best resolved collectively; the best way to resolve a matter that has a wide impact is alongside your colleagues, through your union – when we all stick together to call out a problem, our collective power gives us the strength to achieve change when things go wrong.
Unions also have a major role to play in ensuring Australia remains a great place to live and is a society where everyone gets a share of the wealth we generate. Abundant research demonstrates that where Unions are strong, there is less inequality and a smaller gap between the rich and the poor. If you believe that it’s important for working people to have access to power and decision-making, unions provide pathways for workers to make sure that our politicians hear about the impacts their decisions have on our working lives.
What does my contribution achieve?
Union membership isn’t free because it takes resources to fight campaigns protecting our rights and work, and to provide our members with good quality advice and support. FSU membership rates depend on the hours that you work; if you’re only working part time, you pay less than those who work full time. Our current membership rates can be found here.
The FSU is an independent, member led and funded organisation and it’s membership dues that ensure we can continue to provide the advice and support you rely on. There is strength in numbers and the cost of union membership is much less than the cost of engaging a lawyer if you end up in a dispute with your employer. You’re also contributing to ensuring that the voices of our members are heard in local, state and national forums.
I don’t think I can afford it?
You often hear people say that they can’t afford to be in the union, while others say you can’t afford not to be. We know that unionised workforces earn more than non unionised workforces – but every person in a unionised workforce with an FSU negotiated Enterprise Agreement who chooses not to be in the FSU makes it that much more difficult to negotiate better terms and conditions.
Union membership may not be free or cheap but it does come with some benefits. Not only do you get to be part of a collective supporting each other, it’s also tax deductible so you’ll get some of your union membership fees back at the end of the financial year when you do your tax.
When you’re a union member you also join a collective of unionised workers from lots of different industries, all over the country, which gives us some pretty good purchasing power. This purchasing power is passed onto members through our member benefit discounts that is only assessible to union members. You can find some information below about the types of benefits we offer, but you won’t be able to log in to the section of the website that has details of our providers unless you’re a financial member of the union.
Will anyone know I’m a member?
The only people who will know you’re a member of the FSU are FSU officials (including your local FSU representative) and those people you choose to share this information with. Union membership is confidential and FSU will never share this information with your employer without your consent. This is why we recommend your FSU membership is paid via direct debit or a credit card rather than payroll deductions.
What’s the benefit in joining?
Not only do you have the expertise of our professional staff behind you, but you also have thousands of other FSU members across the country, in your corner. That means you’ll get the support and advice you need on workplace entitlements and issues that affect you at work. It also means that we can collectively negotiate better working conditions for you and your colleagues when you’re all members of the FSU. The benefits are not only to individuals but you’re contributing to ensuring our community has less inequality and to the social and progressive campaigns we run to benefit all Australians.
Where can I find out more?
If you have a specific question about FSU membership you can contact our Member Rights Centre on 1300 366 378 or email fsuinfo@fsunion.org.au. Alternatively if you have an FSU representative at your workplace they can let you know about campaigns specific to your work.