Paid Union Meetings
Union meetings are provided for under section 26 of the Employment Relations Act 2000open_in_new.
Union members are entitled to attend at least two paid union meetings (PUMs) every calendar year.
Schools cannot close for PUMs and must remain open for instruction.
What does open for instruction mean in the context of a paid union meeting?
For the purposes of a paid union meeting, “open for instruction” means that, at a minimum, students who remain on-site during the meeting are safely supervised.
Depending on the number of union members who are entitled to attend the paid union meeting, some schools may be able to maintain their normal level of teaching and learning during the union meeting.
However, if your school is unable to, you can take a practical approach and work with the union to manage operational requirements without closing the school for instruction, such as providing supervision.
There will be a variety of different circumstances applying to schools, as to whether they maintain normal operations or offer supervision during the meeting, depending on:
-
Which staff are having a paid union meeting
-
The number of staff who are not union members and are available to cover the union members who are at the meeting.
-
Whether other staff can cover the work.
-
The timing of the meeting.
-
Any arrangements the board and union have made to manage the union meeting in their local context.
What are the legal responsibilities of the union and employees?
The union must give the board at least 14 days’ notice of the date, time, and duration of the meeting.
The union must work with the board to identify how they will manage the paid union meeting.
If necessary, they must make such arrangements to ensure sufficient union members to remain available during the meeting to enable the school to provide supervision, or, if it would require a minimal number of union members, its regular timetable.
Employees are required to return to work as soon as practicable at the end of the meeting.
The union must provide the employer with a list of members who attended the meeting.
What are the board's legal responsibilities?
Boards are required to:
-
Keep the school open for instruction. Depending on the number of staff eligible to attend a PUM, the school may need to provide supervision rather than continue with its normal timetable.
-
Work with union members to allow as many of them as possible to attend union meetings. When the meeting occurs during the normal working hours of the union member, pay "their ordinary pay" for that time up to 2 hours (see below for further information).
-
Maintain the health and safety of students and staff.
Boards are not required to pay employees for more than two hours (which includes any travel time). Payment is also not required for attending meetings outside their regular hours, or for days of the week on which they do not usually work, unless the collective agreement explicitly provides for this.
Boards are not required to meet any of the expenses associated with the meeting.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access this topic’s templates, resources, and references.
Depending on your device, these may download or open in a separate browser.