If I sign an individual agreement, is joining a union irrelevant?

Many workers are faced with the prospect of signing individual agreements to regulate their pay and conditions. Workers on individual agreements can still be union members and lots are. The Union can give you advice on what should and should not be in an individual agreement. The Union can also act as your bargaining agent for any new agreement. Of course, we recommend that members should always seek to have their terms and conditions of employment regulated by a collective award or agreement, but sometimes that is not possible. If it's not, then union membership is even more valuable. It doesn't pay to be on your own in the work place.

In addition, there are different sorts of individual contracts. Many employees have individual letters of appointment with terms and conditions that add to their basic award or agreement entitlements and which reflect company policies in various areas. These are not generally a major problem since they cannot legally undercut award or agreement conditions.

However, employees may also be offered Australian Workplace Agreements (or AWAs), which are much more serious, since they have legal force and can take away award and agreement rights. We always recommend that employees consult their Union for advice before signing AWAs.