Decision

Recognition Decision

Updated 25 May 2021

Case Number: TUR1/1197(2020)

25 May 2021

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

Pioneer Foods (UK) Limited

1. Introduction

1) Unite the Union (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC dated 12 August 2020 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining purposes by Pioneer Foods (UK) Ltd (the Employer) for a bargaining unit described as: “All employees employed by Pioneer Foods (UK) Limited, with the exception of employees working in office based roles and employees working at the level of shift manager, warehouse team leader, process lead and above”. The location of the bargaining unit was Unit 2 Southgate Way, Orton Southgate, Peterborough, PE2 6YG. The application was received by the CAC on 20 August 2020 and the CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application that day. The Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 26 August 2020 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 Rohan Pirani, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Mr Len Aspell and Mr Paul Moloney. The Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Linda Lehan.

3) By a decision dated 29 September 2020 the Panel accepted the Union’s application and the parties entered a period of 20 working days, the ‘appropriate period’ in accordance with paragraph 18(2)(a) of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule), within which to negotiate and try to reach agreement as to the appropriate bargaining unit.

4) On 8 October 2020 the Union requested that the CAC curtailed the 20-day negotiation period as it was of the view that there was no reasonable prospect of the parties’ agreeing an appropriate bargaining unit before the expiration of the period. In its letter the Union requested that the Panel moved immediately to decide the appropriate bargaining unit. The Chair of the Panel, Mr Rohan Pirani, having considered the contents of the Union’s letter, directed that before the Panel considered the Union’s request to invoke paragraph 18(3) the Employer be asked for its views on the matter. In an email dated 16 October 2020 the Employer confirmed that it agreed to the bargaining unit as suggested by the Union which had been agreed prior to an application being put to the CAC. Following this the Panel instructed the Case Manager to ascertain whether the Union claimed that it had a majority of the workers in the bargaining unit as its members and should therefore be granted recognition without a ballot and, if it did so claim, to seek submissions from the Employer on whether or not a ballot should be held.

2. Issues

5) 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 are:

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

(ii) 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 (or unions) to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf;

(iii) 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 (or unions) 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.

3. The Union’s claim to majority membership

6) In a letter dated 28 October 2020 the Union was asked by the CAC if it claimed majority membership within the bargaining unit, and if so, whether it submitted that it should be recognised without a ballot. By an email dated 2 November 2020 the Union stated that in their view it had majority membership within the bargaining unit and therefore submitted that it should be granted recognition without a ballot.

4. Membership Check

7) To assist in deciding whether to arrange for a secret ballot the Panel proposed a further independent check of the level of union membership in the bargaining unit as the membership check carried out on 4 September 2020 at the acceptance stage showed that the Union only had 42.33% membership. It was agreed with the parties that the Employer would supply to the Case Manager a list of the names, dates of birth and job titles of the workers within the bargaining unit, and that the Union would supply to the Case Manager a list of the names and dates of birth of its paid-up members within that unit. The information from the Union and the Employer was received by the CAC on 10 November 2020. It was explicitly agreed with the parties that, to preserve confidentiality, the respective lists would not be copied to the other party and that agreement was confirmed in a letter from the Case Manager to the parties dated 3 November 2020. The Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties.

8) The Union provided a list with the details of 86 members. The Employer’s list contained 178 names. According to the Case Manager’s report, the number of Union members in the proposed bargaining unit was 81, a membership level of 45.51%.

9) On 10 November 2020, the Panel, satisfied that a majority of the workers constituting the agreed bargaining unit were not members of the Union, gave notice in accordance with paragraph 23(2) of the Schedule that a secret ballot would be held. The Panel also advised the parties that it would wait until the end of the notification period of ten working days, as specified in paragraph 24(5), before arranging a secret ballot. The parties were also asked for their views on the form the ballot should take.

10) In an email dated 26 January 2021 both parties confirmed their agreement that the ballot should take the form of a postal ballot. The parties were able, eventually, to reach agreement on access to workers during the balloting period and the CAC was notified accordingly.

5. The Ballot

11) Kanto Elect was appointed as QIP on 16 April 2020 to conduct the ballot and the parties were notified accordingly. The postal ballot papers were despatched on 30 April 2021 to be returned by no later than noon on 17 May 2021, the day that the ballot closed.

12) The QIP reported to the CAC on 17 May 2021 that, out of 171 workers eligible to vote, 73 ballot papers had been returned and that no ballot papers were found to be spoilt. Seventy-two (72) workers, that is 98.63% of those voting, had voted to support the proposal that the Union be recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer. One (1) worker, that is 1.37% of those voting, voted to reject the proposal. The number of votes supporting the proposal as a percentage of the bargaining unit was 42.10%.

13) The CAC informed the Employer and the Union on 18 May 2021 of the result of the ballot in accordance with paragraph 29(2) of the Schedule.

6. Declaration of Recognition

14) 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.

15) The CAC declares that the Union is recognised by the Employer as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit comprising “All employees employed by Pioneer Foods (UK) Limited, with the exception of employees working in office based roles and employees working at the level of shift manager, warehouse team leader, process lead and above”.

Panel

Mr Rohan Pirani, Panel Chair

Mr Len Aspell

Mr Paul Moloney

25 May 2021