Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 4 November 2020

Case Number: TUR1/1116(2019)

31 July 2020

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION

DECLARATION OF RECOGNITION

The Parties:

United Voices of the World

and

OCS Group UK Limited

1. Introduction

1) United Voices of the World (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 7 June 2019 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by OCS Group UK Limited (the Employer) in respect of a bargaining unit comprising “The cleaners and security guards employed by OCS Group UK Limited working on the contract at Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ”. The application was received by the CAC on 11 June 2019 and the CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application that day. The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 17 June 2019 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 Professor Gillian Morris, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr Roger Roberts and Mr Paul Talbot. Mr Talbot was subsequently replaced by Mr Paul Noon OBE. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Sharmin Khan who was subsequently replaced by Linda Lehan.

3) By a decision dated 12 July 2019 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. No agreement was reached on the appropriate bargaining unit and a hearing to assist the Panel to determine the issue was held on 27 August 2019. During the course of the hearing it was agreed by the parties that the Union’s proposed bargaining unit could be clarified to read “All workers other than management and administrative staff employed by OCS Group UK Limited working on the contract at Ministry of Justice, 102, Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ”. Following the hearing the Panel decided that the appropriate bargaining unit was that proposed by the Union.

4) Paragraph 22(1)-(3) of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule) requires the CAC to issue a declaration that a union is recognised as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the workers constituting the bargaining unit if 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. In a decision dated 26 September 2019 the Panel decided that it was not satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the bargaining unit were members of the Union. The CAC therefore 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. In a letter from the Case Manager to the parties dated 26 September 2019 the parties were advised that the Panel would wait until the end of the notification period ^{[footnote 1]}, as specified in paragraph 24(2) to (7) of the Schedule, before arranging for the holding of a ballot. The parties were also invited to give their views on the form the ballot should take were a ballot to be required.

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) In a letter to the Case Manager dated 2 October 2019 the Union submitted that the ballot should be a postal ballot. In an email to the Case Manager dated 4 October 2019 the Employer submitted that the ballot should be a workplace ballot. In a decision dated 10 October 2019 the Panel decided that the ballot should be a postal ballot.

7) In a letter to the parties dated 2 June 2020 the Case Manager informed the parties that the Panel had decided that, even though the parties had not yet agreed access arrangements, the qualified independent person (QIP) should be appointed and ballot period commenced in view of the considerable time that had elapsed since the ballot should have been held ^{[footnote 2]}. The letter set out the arrangements for the ballot in accordance with paragraph 25(9) of the Schedule.

2. The Ballot

8) On 3 June 2020 Popularis was appointed as the QIP to conduct the ballot and the parties were notified accordingly. The postal ballot papers were dispatched on 2 July 2020 to be returned to the QIP by no later than noon on 28 July 2020.

9) The QIP reported to the CAC on 28 July 2020 that of the 82 workers eligible to vote, fifty one (51) ballot papers had been returned; there were no spoilt papers. Thirty Four (34) workers, that is 66.67% of those voting, had voted to support the proposal that the Union be recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer. Seventeen (17) workers, that is 33.33 % of those voting, voted to reject the proposal. The number of votes supporting the proposal as a percentage of the bargaining unit was 41.46%.

10) The CAC informed the Employer and the Union on 30 July 2020 of the result of the ballot in accordance with paragraph 29(2) of the Schedule.

3. Declaration of Recognition

11) 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.

12) 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 management and administrative staff employed by OCS Group UK Limited working on the contract at Ministry of Justice, 102, Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ”.

Panel

Professor Gillian Morris, Panel Chair

Mr Paul Noon OBE

Mr Roger Roberts

31 July 2020

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 so starting as the CAC may specify; in relation to notification by the union 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 so starting as the CAC may specify: paragraph 24(5),(6). ↩

2. Paragraph 25(9) of the Schedule requires the CAC to inform the parties of the arrangements for the ballot as “soon as is reasonably practicable after the CAC is required under paragraph 24 to arrange for the holding of a ballot”. ↩