Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy Statement (Policy) outlines the approach of the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) - Plumbing Division - Queensland Divisional Branch (Union), and the Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees’ Union Queensland, Union of Employees (PGEU), to the management of personal information. A copy of this Policy is available to any person who requests it.

The Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Act) are a set of rules with which organisations must comply in managing personal information about individuals. The Union is committed to protecting your privacy, to complying with the APPs, and to providing you with information and services relevant to you.

This website is owned and operated by the Union. By using this website, you agree to the Policy of this website, which is set out on this page. The policy relates to the collection and use of personal information you may supply to the Union, including through your conduct on the website.

The Union is the union representing:

2.4.1 … bona fide workers employed or usually employed in executing any plumbing, gasfitting, pipe-fitting, or domestic engineering work, whether prefabricated or not, or who execute any work in or in connection with:

2.4.1.1 Sheet lead, galvanised iron, or other classes of sheet metal, or any other materials which supercede the materials fixed by plumbers;

2.4.1.2 lead, wrought, cast or sheet iron, copper, brass or other classes of pipe work;

2.4.1.3 Water (hot or cold), steam, gas, air, vacuum, heating or ventilating appliances, fittings, services or installations;

2.4.1.4 house, ship, sanitary, chemical or general plumbing and drainage; or

2.4.2 who are independent contractors who, if they were employees performing work of the kind which they usually perform as independent contractors, would be employees eligible for membership of the Union under Rule 2.4.1, provided that they:

2.4.2.1 are natural persons; and

2.4.2.2 provide services for another person or body where the main object of the arrangement is to obtain their labour; and

2.4.2.3 are not employers or usually employers.

2.4.3 together with such other persons, whether employed in the industry or not, as have been appointed officers of the Union and admitted as members thereof.

2.4.5 Without limiting the generality of the foregoing or being limited by the foregoing, the Union shall also consist of an unlimited number of persons who are employed or usually employed by CCA Beverages (Brisbane) Limited trading as Coca-Cola Bottlers, Brisbane in its operations at Richlands in the State of Queensland (including sales, marketing and services therefrom).

…

and such other people as are included in Section A Rule 2 of the CEPU Rules, as limited by Section C Rule 3.

The Union collects personal information in order to conduct its business of advancing the interests of members, and such other objects as set out in Section A Rule 3 of the CEPU Rules. The Union operates in the political, legal, industrial and social spheres.

The Union is committed to protecting your privacy and providing you with information and services relevant to you. The Union complies with the Act and the APPs. This Policy should be read in conjunction with the Act and the APPs.

How this Policy applies

This Policy applies to personal information the Union collects from you:

via our website;
via social media;
via telephone;
via email;
via fax;
in person; and/ or
in writing.

This Policy also applies to personal information the Union collects from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), or any other third party, about you.

Union Website

The Union website collects two types of information. The first type is anonymous information. The web server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes:

the user’s server address;
the date and time of the visit to the site;
the pages accessed and documents downloaded;
the previous site visited; and
the type of browser used.

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except, in the unlikely event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect the internet service provider’s logs.

Another way information may be collected is through the use of ‘cookies’. The Union, or our authorised service providers, may use cookies and other similar technologies for storing information to help provide you with a better, faster and safer experience. A cookie is a small text file that the website may be placed on your computer. Cookies may be used, among other things, to track the pages you have visited, to remember your preferences and to store personal information about you.

You can adjust your Internet browser to disable cookies or to warn you when cookies are being used. However, if you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain areas of the Website or take advantage of the improved web site experience that cookies offer.

The Union’s websites may contain links to other websites and social media pages including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. The Union is not responsible for the privacy policies of the entities responsible for those websites and recommends that you review the privacy policies applicable to any other websites you visit.

The second type of information that the Union may collect is personal information. Personal information is requested in order to provide personalised and enhanced services that are not available to anonymous users, and to keep users informed.

The kinds of information the Union may collect

From time to time you may voluntarily supply your personal information to the Union. The Union will record your e-mail address if you send us a message, subscribe to an email newsletter, or complete a form if this information is requested.

When you provide your personal information, it allows us, for example, to assist you with industrial relations and employment queries, inform you about industrial, social and political campaigns, and accept your application for membership. You may supply personal information to the Union by, for example, responding to a survey, filling in a meeting attendance sheet, taking part in a competition, completing a membership form, discussing your issues with a delegate, updating your membership details, or signing up to a campaign. The Union only collects personal information that is necessary for the Union to perform its functions and/or activities.

Depending upon the circumstances, you may provide to the Union, and the Union may collect, information such as, but not limited to:

your name;
your contact details, including driver’s licence, email address, and address;
your social media details (e.g. blogs, twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn);
your gender;
your marital status;
your employment details;
images of you participating in Union activities (for example, attending Labour Day marches);
your trade and educational qualifications; and
your inquiry and/or complaint details.

Some personal information is considered sensitive information and includes:

your political opinions;
your political party membership (if any);
your union membership (if any);
your racial or ethnic origin;
your sexual orientation;
any disabilities, illnesses or injuries you may have; and/or
any other health information.

The Privacy Act allows the Union to collect sensitive information which relates solely to Union members or people who have regular contact with the Union if the sensitive information relates to the Union’s activities.

We will only collect sensitive information where we have received your consent to your personal information being collected, used, disclosed and stored by the Union in accordance with this Policy.

Where you provide information to the Union in relation to a job application, the personal information you provide will only be collected, held, used and disclosed for the purposes of considering your potential employment with the Union. Where you provide the details of referees, you confirm that you have informed the referees that you are providing their contact information to the Union and they have consented to the Union contacting them and discussing the personal information you have provided in relation to the job application.

We will collect personal information directly from you unless:

you have consented to the Union’s collection of your personal information from third parties – for example, from the ACTU, or your representatives; or
we are legally required to do so; or
it is unreasonable or impractical to do so.

Where we have collected personal information about you by other than direct means as set out above, we will notify you at the time, or as soon as practicable, to ensure that you are aware of such collection and its purpose.

You can choose to interact with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym where it is lawful and practicable. For example, you may wish to participate in a blog or enquire about a campaign anonymously or under a pseudonym. Your decision to interact anonymously or by using a pseudonym may affect the level of services we can offer you. For example, we may not be able to assist you with a specific industrial enquiry or investigate a privacy complaint on an anonymous or pseudonymous basis. We will inform you if this is the case and let you know the options available to you.

If we receive unsolicited personal information about or relating to you and we determine that such information could have been collected in the same manner if we had solicited the information, then we will treat it in the same way as solicited personal information and in accordance with the APPs. Otherwise if we determine that such information could not have been collected in the same manner as solicited personal information, and that information is not contained in a Commonwealth record, we will, if it is lawful and reasonable to do so, destroy the information or de-identify the information.

The purposes for which personal information is collected, held, used and disclosed

The Union operates in the political, legal, industrial and social spheres. The Union collects, holds, uses and discloses your personal information to:

assist you in joining the Union;
assist you with industrial relations and employment queries and disputes;
conduct its business of:
- representing members in workplace and industry-wide negotiations with employers and employer organisations;
- representing members before the Fair Work Commission, state industrial tribunals and other courts and tribunals on matters relevant to industrial and workplace issues;
- lobbying Local, State and Federal governments and other relevant bodies about matters of concern to members and their families in relation to employment and living standards;
- publicising to members and to the community issues of concern to members and proposals to address these concerns;
- providing members and their families with access to a range of goods and services on favourable terms;
inform you about union benefits;
inform you about industrial, social and political campaigns;
inform you about your rights at work;
inform you about changes to legislation;
assist you in confirming and recovering your entitlements;
refer you to a legal practitioner, accountant or other professional;
improve our service delivery;
manage our relationship with you;
conduct surveys, petitions, campaigns and research;
inform you via Union newsletters and other information resources;
provide educational services and professional development;
conduct Union elections;
assist you in joining an unemployment register;
ensure the Union is appropriately staffed to fulfil its purpose and functions;
meet statutory requirements; and
perform functions and tasks related and ancillary to the above.

Using your information for direct marketing

You consent to our use and disclosure of your personal information for the purposes of direct marketing which may include providing you with information about events, products or services which may be of interest to you, now and in the future.

Unsubscribing and opting out

If you no longer wish to receive direct marketing or other communications, you may request at any time to cancel your consent to such communications by contacting the Union.

You may contact us at any time by mail or email directed to our Office.

Disclosure of your personal information

The Union may disclose your personal information, in connection with or to further the purposes outlined above, to:

the ACTU;
other Australian trade unions;
affiliated trades halls or labour councils;
affiliated training organisations;
political parties;
government bodies or agencies (including the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Australian Tax Office, an anti-discrimination body, a work/occupational health and safety regulator, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission);
organisations to whom we outsource functions (including information technology providers, print service providers, mail houses);
funds such as BUSS(Q), CBUS, BERT, BEWT, CIPQ, and STQ;
otherwise as you have consented; and/or
otherwise as required by law.

If any of these organisations are located outside Australia, you expressly consent to us disclosing your personal information to those organisations. These parties may be located in the following countries (these are the countries where the head office(s) of our international affiliates are based):

the United States of America.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that each organisation that we disclose your personal information to is committed to protecting your privacy and complies with the APPs, or is subject to a law or scheme that is at least substantially similar to the way in which the APPs protect information.

By providing your personal information to the Union, you consent to us transferring your personal information to such other organisations.

How the Union holds personal information

Wherever reasonably practicable, the Union holds electronic personal information on data servers that are owned and controlled by the Union in Australia. The data servers are password protected and login secured. However, by providing personal information to the Union, you consent to your information being stored and processed on a data server or data servers (e.g. cloud services) owned by a third party or third parties that may be located outside of Australia. The Union will take reasonable steps to ensure that any third-party providers comply with the APPs. If personal information is only routed through servers located outside of Australia – this not regarded as a disclosure.

Wherever reasonably practicable, the Union holds physical personal information in access-controlled premises.

If you request to have your personal information removed from our system(s)/ storage, and we are not required to keep it to comply with any laws, we will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to destroy your personal information or to ensure that the information is de-identified.

Government Identifiers

We will not adopt, as our own identifier, a government-related identifier of an individual, such as a tax file number or Medicare card number, and will only use or disclose a government-related identifier where the use or disclosure:

is reasonably necessary for the Union to verify your identity for the purposes of our activities or functions;
is reasonably necessary for the Union to fulfil its obligations to an agency or a State or Territory authority;
is required or authorised by or under an Australian law; or
is reasonably necessary for one or more enforcement related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body.

How you may seek access and/or correction to personal information held by the Union

You have the right to request access to your personal information and request that it be updated or corrected. In most cases you can gain access to your personal information that the Union holds. To request access to, correction of, or updating of any personal information held about you, please write to the Union at the following address:

Attn: Office

Plumbers’ Union

PO Box 3596

South Brisbane QLD 4101

Alternatively: office@plumbersunionqld.com

General enquiries can be made via telephone by calling the following number: (07) 3844 8433

The Union requires that you provide proof of identity in order to seek access to your personal information. The Union may charge a reasonable fee where access is provided. The Union may refuse to provide access if permitted to do so by law or under the APPs. The Union will seek to provide you with access to your personal information within 30 days of receipt of a valid request and may charge you a reasonable fee for doing so.

Please contact the Union when your personal information has changed.

It is important that we keep our membership details up to date. Please contact the Union to update any personal information. The Union may also take steps to update your personal information by reference to publicly available sources such as telephone directories or electoral rolls.

The Union can be contacted at the following email address: office@plumbersunionqld.com

How you may complain about a breach of the APPs

To make a complaint about an alleged breach of the APPs, please write to or email the Union at one of the following addresses:

Attn: Reception

Plumbers’ Union

PO Box 3596

South Brisbane QLD 4101

Alternatively: office@plumbersunionqld.com

All complaints must be in writing. Please provide all details about your complaint as well as any supporting documentation to the Union.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your complaint, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

How the Union will deal with complaints

The Union will seek to deal with privacy complaints as follows:

complaints will be treated seriously;
complaints will be dealt with promptly;
complaints will be dealt with confidentially;
complaints will be investigated by the Industrial Officer; and
the outcome of an investigation will be provided to the complainant where the complainant has provided proof of identity.

The Union will seek to respond within 30 days of receipt of a valid complaint.

Links to Other Websites

The Union does not accept responsibility for the content appearing on any website linked to the Union website.

The Union encourages you to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects your personally identifiable information.

Consent

By using the website, you are consenting to the Union’s collection, disclosure, use and storage of your personal information in accordance with this Policy.

Employment with the Union

Variations to the Policy

This Policy may be varied from time to time and an updated version will be posted on the Union’s websites. Please check our websites regularly to ensure that you have the most recent version of the Policy.

Last Updated: 21 April 2020