Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 25 July 2023

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Case Number: TUR1/1292(2022)

25 July 2023

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION

The Parties:

Unite the Union

and

Inflite Engineering Services Limited

1. Introduction

1) Unite the Union (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 22 November 2022 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by Inflite Engineering Services Limited (the Employer) in respect of a bargaining unit comprising “On behalf of all your workers employed by your organisation within Woodside 1 with the exception of Managers and Office staff.” The location of the bargaining unit was given as “Woodside 1, Aircraft Component Repair and Overhaul Centre, Woodside Industrial Park, Dunmow Road, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire.” The application was received by the CAC on 23 November 2022 and the CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application by a letter of the same date. The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 24 November 2022 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 Chairman established a Panel to deal with the case. The Panel consisted of Mrs Lisa Gettins, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr Martin Kirke and Ms Joanna Brown. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Kate Norgate. latterly replaced by Joanne Curtis.

3) By a decision dated 23 December 2022 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. As no agreement was reached, the parties were invited to supply the Panel with, and to exchange, written submissions relating to the question of the determination of the appropriate bargaining unit. A virtual hearing was held on 15 March 2023. At the hearing the Panel decided that the appropriate bargaining unit was that specified by the Union in its application, namely “all workers other than managers and office staff located at Woodside 1 aircraft centre”. For the purposes of this definition, the workers excluded from this definition were those categorised as Office staff by the Employer namely General Manager, Quality Manager, Planning, Library, Archives, Production Control and Production Supervisor.

4) On 20 April 2023, the Panel, not being satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit were members of the Union, gave notice in accordance with paragraph 23(2) of the Schedule that it intended to arrange for the holding of a secret ballot in which the workers constituting the bargaining unit would be asked whether they wanted the Union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. The parties were advised that the Panel would wait until the end of the notification period,^{[footnote 1]} as specified in paragraphs 24(2) to (7) of the Schedule, before arranging for the holding of a ballot. The parties were also asked for their views on the form the ballot should take.

5) The notification period described in the preceding paragraph elapsed without the Union, or the Union and the Employer jointly, informing the CAC that a ballot was not required.

6) The parties put forward two different types of ballot for the Panel to consider. The Employer argued for a postal ballot, whereas the Union submitted that the ballot should be held in the workplace. The Panel considered carefully the arguments put by the parties and concluded in a decision dated 12 June 2023 that a postal ballot would be the appropriate form of ballot in this case.

2. The Ballot

7) On 16 June 2023 Mi-Voice was appointed as the Qualified Independent Person (QIP) to conduct the ballot and the parties were notified accordingly. The postal ballot papers were dispatched on 3 July 2023 to be returned to the QIP by no later than Noon on 14 July 2023.

8) The QIP reported to the CAC on 14 July 2023 that, of the 58 workers eligible to vote, 44 ballot papers had been returned. 41 workers, that is 93.2% of those voting, had voted to support the proposal that the Union be recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer. 3 workers, that is 6.8% of those voting, voted to reject the proposal. The number of votes supporting the proposal as a percentage of the bargaining unit was 70.7%.

9) The CAC informed the Employer and the Union on 18 July 2023 of the result of the ballot in accordance with paragraph 29(2) of the Schedule.

3. Declaration of Recognition

10) The ballot establishes that a majority of the workers voting, and at least 40% of the workers constituting the bargaining unit, support the proposal that the Union should be recognised by the Employer for the purpose of conducting collective bargaining in respect of the bargaining unit. This satisfies the conditions under which the CAC must issue a declaration in favour of recognition in accordance with paragraph 29(3) of the Schedule.

11) 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 “all workers other than managers and office staff located at Woodside 1 aircraft centre”. For the purposes of this definition, the workers excluded from this definition are those categorised as Office staff by the Employer namely General Manager, Quality Manager, Planning, Library, Archives, Production Control and Production Supervisor.

Panel

Mrs Lisa Gettins, Panel Chair

Mr Martin Kirke

Ms Joanna Brown.

25 July 2023

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1. The “notification period”, in relation to notification by the union, is the period of 10 working days starting with the day on which the union receives the CAC’s notice under paragraph 23(2) or such longer period as the CAC may specify; in relation to notification by the unions and the employer, the period of 10 working days starting with the day on which the last of the parties receives the CAC’s notice or such longer period as the CAC may specify: paragraph 24(5),(6). ↩