This part of the agreement sets out your right to invite PPTA to visit you at your school; it also covers paid union meetings (PUMs) and employment relations education leave (EREL).
9.1 Right of Access
9.1.1 Subject to the Employment Relations Act 2000 the Secretary or other authorised officer of the unions shall, be entitled to enter at all reasonable times upon the premises for the purposes related to the employment of its members or for purposes related to the union’s business or both. The Secretary or other authorised officer shall enter at a reasonable time and in a reasonable way and comply with existing health and safety procedures and requirements applying in respect of the school.
9.2 Union Deductions
9.2.1 In accordance with authorities signed by individual teachers, the employer shall arrange for the deduction of the Association/Institute subscription then applying and remit the sum so deducted to the union.
9.2.2 The commission payable by the Association/Institute shall be 2.5% (two and one half per cent) of the aggregate sum of the amount so deducted.
9.3 Paid Union Meetings [s.26 Employment Relations Act 2000]
9.3.1 The employer must allow every union member employed by the employer to attend at least two union meetings (each of a maximum of two hours' duration) in each calendar year.
9.3.2 The union must give the employer at least 14 days' notice of the date and time of any union meeting to be held.
9.3.3 The union must make such arrangements with the employer as may be necessary to ensure that the school remains open for instruction during any union meeting, including, where appropriate, an arrangement for sufficient union members to remain available during the meeting to enable the school to remain open for instruction.
9.3.4 Work must resume as soon as practicable after the meeting, but the employer is not obliged to pay any union member for a period longer than two hours in respect of any meeting.
9.3.5 An employer must allow a union member employed by the employer to attend a union meeting under clause 9.3.1 on ordinary pay to the extent that the employee would otherwise be working for the employer during the meeting.
9.3.6 For the purposes of clause 9.3.5 the union must:
(i) supply to the employer a list of members who attended the union meeting; and
(ii) advise the employer of the duration of the meeting.
9.4 Employment Relations Education Leave
9.4.1 Attention is drawn to Part 7 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 which provides that eligible employees may take paid employment relations education leave to undertake approved courses in employment relations education if the Association and/or Institute allocates employment relations education leave to them. Employment relations education leave can only be used for education of a type that is approved by the Minister of Labour for the purpose of improving relationships between unions, employees and employers.