Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 23 February 2023

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Case Number: TUR1/1295/2022

23 February 2023

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION WITHOUT A BALLOT

The Parties:

GMB

and

Movianto UK Limited

1. Introduction

1) GMB (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 14 December 2022 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by Movianto UK Limited (the Employer) for a bargaining unit comprising “Medical Delivery Technician Class 1, and Medical Delivery Technician Van Drivers employed on the NHS contract.” The location of the bargaining unit was given as “Medical Delivery Technician Class 1, and Medical Delivery Technician Van Drivers employed on the NHS Contract at the Movianto site – Unipart Siskin Park Way Middlemarch Business Park CV3 4UP.” The application was received by the CAC on 14 December 2022 and the CAC gave notice of receipt of the application to the parties that day. The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 5 January 2023 which was copied to the Union.

2) In accordance with section 263 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the Act), the CAC Chair established a Panel to deal with the case. The Panel consisted of Professor Gillian Morris, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mrs Susan Jordan and Mr Nicholas Childs. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Joanne Curtis.

3) By its written decision dated 18 January 2023 the Panel accepted the Union’s application. The parties then entered a period of negotiation in an attempt to reach agreement on the appropriate bargaining unit. In an email dated 2 February 2023 the Union notified the Case Manager that the parties had agreed the bargaining unit and in an email to the Case Manager dated 3 February 2023 the Union stated that the agreed bargaining unit was the bargaining unit proposed by the Union in its application. In response to an email from the Case Manager the Employer confirmed on 7 February 2023 that the parties had agreed the bargaining unit.

2. Issues

4) Paragraph 22 of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule) provides that if the CAC is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the union, it must issue a declaration of recognition under paragraph 22(2) unless any of the three qualifying conditions specified in paragraph 22(4) applies. Paragraph 22(3) requires the CAC to hold a ballot even where it has found that a majority of workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the union if any of these qualifying conditions is fulfilled. The three qualifying conditions specified in paragraph 22(4) are:

(a) the CAC is satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations;

(b) the CAC has evidence, which it considers to be credible, from a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit that they do not want the union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf;

(c) membership evidence is produced which leads the CAC to conclude that there are doubts whether a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit want the union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. Paragraph 22(5) provides that “membership evidence” for these purposes is (a) evidence about the circumstances in which union members became members, or (b) evidence about the length of time for which union members have been members, in a case where the CAC is satisfied that such evidence should be taken into account.

5) A membership check conducted by the Case Manager to assist the Panel to determine whether the application should be accepted, issued to the Panel and the parties on 12 January 2023, showed that 11 (55%) of the 20 workers in the Union’s proposed bargaining unit were members of the Union.^{[footnote 1]} In a letter from the Case Manager to the Union dated 7 February 2023 the Union was asked whether it wished to claim majority membership within the bargaining unit and that it should therefore be granted recognition without a ballot. In a letter to the Case Manager dated 7 February 2023 the Union said that it believed that it had majority membership and that it believed that the Union should be granted recognition without a ballot. In a letter from the Case Manager to the Employer dated 7 February 2023 the Employer was invited to make any submissions it wished to make on the Union’s claim to majority membership and on the three qualifying conditions specified in paragraph 22(4) of the Schedule by noon on 15 February 2023.

3. Summary of the Employer’s submissions on the qualifying conditions

6) In a letter to the Case Manager dated 9 February 2023 the Employer said that it had not seen evidence that confirmed that the majority of workers in the bargaining unit wanted the Union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. The Employer stated that it had based this on the fact that many of the signatures on the petition submitted by the Union to support its application were pp’d and that it had not had any indication internally that this was the case. The Employer stated that as a result it would request that the workers in the bargaining unit were balloted.

4. Considerations

7) As set out in paragraph 4 above, the Act requires the Panel to consider whether it is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union. If the Panel is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union, it must then decide if any of the three conditions in paragraph 22(4) is fulfilled. If the Panel considers that any of them is fulfilled it must give notice to the parties that it intends to arrange for the holding of a secret ballot.

8) The membership check conducted by the Case Manager described in paragraph 5 above showed that 55% of the workers in the bargaining unit were members of the Union. The Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially. Neither party submitted that there had been any material changes in the composition of the workforce or the density of union membership since that check had been conducted and the Panel has not received any evidence from any other source which indicates that this might have been the case. The Panel is satisfied, therefore, that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union.

9) The Panel has considered carefully the submissions of the Employer and all the evidence in reaching its decision as to whether any of the qualifying conditions laid down in paragraph 22(4) of the Schedule is fulfilled.

10) The first condition is that the Panel is satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations. The Panel has considered the submissions put forward by the Employer and is not satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations.

11) The second condition is that the CAC has evidence, which it considers to be credible, from a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit that they do not want the union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. No such evidence has been produced and the Panel is satisfied that this condition does not apply.

12) The third condition is that membership evidence is produced which leads the CAC to conclude that there are doubts whether a significant number of the union members within the bargaining unit want the Union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. No such evidence has been produced and the Panel is satisfied that this condition does not apply.

5. Declaration of recognition

13) The Panel is satisfied in accordance with paragraph 22(1)(b) of the Schedule that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union. The Panel is satisfied that none of the conditions in paragraph 22(4) of the Schedule are met. Pursuant to paragraph 22(2) of the Schedule, the CAC must issue a declaration that the Union is recognised as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the workers constituting the bargaining unit. The CAC accordingly declares that the Union is recognised by the Employer as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit comprising “Medical Delivery Technician Class 1, and Medical Delivery Technician Van Drivers employed on the NHS Contract at the Movianto site – Unipart Siskin Park Way Middlemarch Business Park CV3 4UP.”

Panel

Professor Gillian Morris, Panel Chair

Mrs Susan Jordan

Mr Nicholas Childs

23 February 2023

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1. See further the Panel’s decision of 18 January 2023, paragraphs 18-19. ↩