Unions have signalled plans to develop a service fee in enterprise bargaining negotiations with Crown Casino, Coles Myer, Commonwealth Bank, Woolworths, Franklins, David Jones and Jewel. Public sector unions also want to extend the campaign to government departments and 78 councils, which could boost union membership by more than 15,000.
Most unions see the fee as a tool to stimulate flagging membership.
Australian Workers Union secretary Bill Shorten called on the government to back the campaign with legislation. The government's Fair Employment Bill aims to give minimum standards to 250,000 low-paid workers who slipped through the cracks when the state's industrial relations powers were ceded to the Commonwealth under the Kennett government. It's not about setting new standards. Mr Hubbard's position contrasts the approach of New South Wales Labor Council secretary Michael Costa, who urged the NSW Government to allow unions to levy service fees on non-union members. A landmark Australian Industrial Relations Commission decision last Friday that found a service fee introduced by the Electrical Trades Union was legally valid has spurred the public sector campaign.