Recognition Decision
Updated 10 June 2022
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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Case Number: TUR1/1264/2022
10 June 2022
CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE
TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992
SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION
DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION WITHOUT A BALLOT
The Parties:
United Voices of the World (UVW)
and
Endersham Ltd
1. Introduction
1) United Voices of the World (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 27 April 2022 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by Endersham Ltd (the Employer) for a bargaining unit comprising “[t]he cleaners employed by Endersham Limited to work at Riverside Quarter, 9 Eastfield Avenue, Wandsworth, London, SW18 1RD”. The location of the bargaining unit was given as Riverside Quarter, 9 Eastfield Avenue, Wandsworth, London, SW18 1RD. The application was received by the CAC on 27 April 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 May 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 Chair established a Panel to deal with the case. The Panel consisted of Mr Tariq Sadiq, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr Mustafa Faruqi and Ms Hannah Reed. Ms Hannah Reed was subsequently replaced by Mr Paul Morley on 17 May 2022. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Joanne Curtis.
3) By a decision dated 19 May 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. On 26 May 2022 the parties agreed that the appropriate bargaining unit in this matter was that originally proposed by the Union: “the cleaners employed by Endersham Limited to work at Riverside Quarter, 9 Eastfield Avenue, Wandsworth, London, SW18 1RD.” As the agreed bargaining unit was the same as that proposed by the Union in its application, the Panel moved to the next stage in the statutory process.
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) states that membership evidence 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 May 2022, showed that 5 (83.33%) of the 6 workers in the Union’s proposed bargaining unit were members of the Union. In a letter from the Case Manager to the Union dated 27 May 2022 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 an email to the Case Manager dated 6 June 2022 the Union claimed to have majority membership and stated that it should therefore be granted recognition without a ballot. In a letter from the Case Manager to the Employer dated 6 June 2022 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 10 June 2022. In an e mail to the case manager dated 6 June 2022 the Employer said it was satisfied that the Union had majority membership and did not wish to make any submissions.
3. Considerations
6) 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.
7) The membership check conducted by the Case Manager described in paragraph 5 above established that 5 of the 6 workers in the bargaining unit are members of the Union, a membership density of 83.33%. 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. Paragraph 22(2) of the Schedule requires the CAC to issue a declaration that the Union is recognised where it is satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit are members of the Union unless any of the three qualifying conditions set out in paragraph 22(4) is fulfilled. The Panel has considered all the evidence in reaching its decision as to whether any of the qualifying conditions is fulfilled.
8) The first condition is that the Panel is satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations. No evidence has been put before the Panel to show how industrial relations would be detrimentally affected if it were to award recognition without holding a ballot. The Panel has therefore concluded that this condition has not been satisfied.
9) 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. The Panel has no such evidence and the Panel has therefore concluded that this condition does not apply.
10) 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 has therefore concluded that this condition does not apply.
4. Declaration of recognition
11) 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 is fulfilled. Pursuant to paragraph 22(2) of the Schedule, the Panel 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 Panel accordingly declares that the Union is recognised by the Employer as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit comprising “the cleaners employed by Endersham Limited to work at Riverside Quarter, 9 Eastfield Avenue, Wandsworth, London, SW18 1RD”.
Panel
Mr Tariq Sadiq, Panel Chair
Mr Mustafa Faruqi
Mr Paul Morley
10 June 2022