Arising from a decision of the SDA’s National Executive, there has been a modest adjustment in union fees.
Like any other organisation, our operational costs have risen over recent years as we strive to continue providing professional union representation and achieving excellent results for our members.
Some of this work has included:
- Preparing a submission to increase wages for retail, fast food and warehouse workers in the Annual Wage Review.
- Defending members’ penalty rates, loadings and breaks in an attack on workers rights from employers associations.
- Promoting the No One Deserves a Serve campaign in shopping centres and the media, and campaigning the state government to improve laws so offenders who abuse retail staff face harsher penalties;
- Lobbying to protect young workers, in a bid for managers in charge of under 18’s to require a blue card.
- Lodging a case at the Fair Work Commission so 18 year olds receive 100% of the adult wage, and to increase junior rates with the Adult Age = Adult Wage campaign.
- Successfully lobbying the federal government to introduce ‘same job, same pay’ laws, then applying for site-by-site orders so agency workers need to receive the same rate of pay as directly hired workers – resulting in some members receiving up to a $13 an hour pay increase.
- Representing members both individually and collectively in various industrial tribunals and courts;
- Lobbying and preparing submissions on industrial relations legislation such as casual employees’ rates and rights;
- Negotiating and re-negotiating over 100 Enterprise Agreements;
- Providing industrial advice and assistance to members on the tens of thousands of phone calls received in the office each year.
- Serving 24,000 members across some 2,000 sites throughout Queensland;
- Offering an increasing range of services, benefits and discounts to SDA members;
- Producing a wide range of publications including the SDA News, company and site-specific bulletins;
- Lobbying the Federal Government over issues such as the right to disconnect, casual conversion and legislating penalty rates.
- Lobbying state governments on matters such as knife security laws and free & safe car parking that impact our members and their families;
- Securing Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve (after 6pm) as public holidays.
- Funding workers’ compensation legal costs for members;
The SDA is confident that our new fees will allow us to operate in a challenging industrial relations environment and will enable us to continue to function on a sound financial basis.
The new membership fees are operative from 1 July 2025.
- Members working less than 10 hours per week $ 4.80
- Members working 10 hours but less than 20 hours per week $ 8.60
- Members working 20 hours per week or more $12.10
*Members are reminded that union fees are tax deductible.
– Justin Power, SDA QLD Secretary