First of all, at Collins we uphold your legal right to join a union or not.

No employment decisions are made on union membership status, and it is not a condition of employment to be a union member (closed shops are illegal because they restrict choice).

We also fully respect your personal choice to join a union or not. You and only you should decide whether to belong to a union, or not.

You can withdraw your membership at any time by telling the union in writing that you want to leave and to cancel your membership.

No, you are legally entitled to join a union or not. Irrespective of whether a union becomes recognised or not.

A union recognition can be granted voluntarily by an employer, or it can be ordered by the Industrial Court or it can be decided by a majority of employees in a recognition ballot.

The union will become the bargaining agent for all employees in the covered by the bargaining unit, union members and nonmembers alike. If you are not a union member, you have no right to be consulted by the union – only union members have union rights. Negotiated outcomes will apply to all employees in the bargaining unit.

The union cannot guarantee anything. If a union represents you, it must negotiate your pay. Ask the union to put any guarantee they make you about pay in writing. The union can demand things, but that does not mean they can get those things. They must negotiate with the company.

No, the union cannot guarantee anything. Anything the union demands is subject to bargaining with the company, and in this case, the union can do nothing to guarantee you a steady job. Customers and employers are what make for steady work.

In any case, there is no legal obligation to include employment, job roles, and promotions as these are not in the bargaining scope. The union can only negotiate on pay, hours, and holidays.

Whilst the union will be consulted on proposed layoffs and job redundancy, ultimately it is a company decision to determine staffing requirements.

Holidays are subject to collective bargaining and could change as a result of negotiations with the union. In negotiations, holidays could improve, decrease or stay the same depending on the overall agreement.

There is no legal requirement to include or negotiation on employment benefits. The legally required bargaining topics are restricted to pay, hours, and holidays.

A union representative is like any other salesperson at your home. You do not have to talk to him or her if you don't want to.

Threatening is illegal. The laws in this country protect you against threats. If you are threatened, immediately inform your supervisor or HR. If this is not effective or appropriate, go right to the top for help. The company will not tolerate threats of any type.

We believe we are a good local employer with a good reputation, a loyal workforce and our people enjoy good employment terms. We feel that no one has been disadvantaged by the absence of union recognition. We therefore believe you do not need a union to represent you.

Ultimately, if there’s no agreement, the union has two options: either accept the company’s offer or, escalate the dispute and threaten industrial action or call a strike, as an attempt to force the company to agree to its demands.

Industrial action would be damaging to all of us: the company, our customers, and our colleagues. Aside from operational disruption, and jeopardising customer service, employees also suffer – lost pay if on strike, or extra workload for colleagues reporting for work, and tension between colleagues crossing picket lines.

In the event that the parties have exhausted available means of resolving a dispute, a union can arrange a strike ballot, which is a formal and secret vote by union members to decide whether they support taking industrial action, such as a strike.

By law, unions must ballot eligible members before calling a strike, and the vote must meet specific legal thresholds for turnout and support to be valid.

Non-members have no voting rights but are impacted by the ballot outcome.