Wanting to take employment relations education leave (EREL) or wondering about leave from school to attend PPTA executive meetings, this part of the agreement describes those provisions.
10.1 Association Leave
10.2 Right of Access
10.3 Association Deductions
10.4 Paid Union Meetings [s.26 Employment Relations Act 2000]
10.5 Employment Relations Education Leave
10.1 Association Leave
10.1.1 Upon application, leave without pay may be granted to any Association member to enable that person to participate in the internal affairs of the Association. Such application shall be given in writing to their employer by the Association member and shall detail the purpose and period of the leave.
10.1.2 The employer will grant leave without pay to the elected National President of the Association for the term of their office.
10.1.3 The employer will grant leave without pay to members of the Association who are duly elected as members of its National Executive in order that they may attend Executive meetings of the Association. The employer will also give consideration to granting leave without pay to members of the Association who are duly elected as members of its National Executive for attendance at subcommittees or when undertaking a National Executive representative function.
back to top10.2 Right of Access
10.2.1 Subject to the Employment Relations Act 2000 the General Secretary or other authorised officer of the Association shall with the consent of the employer (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) be entitled to enter at all reasonable times upon the premises for the purposes of interviewing any employee represented by the Association, or the enforcing of this agreement, including access to wages, holiday and time records; provided this does not interfere with class programmes/session times.
10.3 Association Deductions
10.3.1 In accordance with authorities signed by individual teachers the employer shall arrange for the deduction of the Association subscription then applying and remit the sum so deducted to the Association.
10.3.2 The commission payable by the Association shall be 2.5% (two and one-half per cent) of the aggregate sum of the amount so deducted.
10.4 Paid Union Meetings [s.26 Employment Relations Act 2000]
10.4.1
(a) The employer must allow every union member employed by the employer to attend at least 2 union meetings (each of a maximum of 2 hours' duration) in each calendar year after the calendar year 2000.
(b) The union must give the employer at least 14 days' notice of the date and time of any union meeting to be held.
(c) 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.
(d) 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 2 hours in respect of any meeting.
(e) An employer must allow a union member employed by the employer to attend a union meeting under 10.4.1 on ordinary pay to the extent that the employee would otherwise be working for the employer during the meeting.
(f) For the purposes of 10.4.1(e) 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.
10.5 Employment Relations Education Leave
10.5.1
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 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.