皇冠体育app

Case Number: TUR1/1240(2021)

23 December 2021

CENTRAL ARBITRATION COMMITTEE

TRADE UNION AND LABOUR RELATIONS (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1992

SCHEDULE A1 - COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: RECOGNITION DECISION ON WHETHER TO ACCEPT THE APPLICATION

皇冠体育app Parties:

GMB

and

Nicholsons Sealing Technologies Ltd

1. Introduction

1) GMB (the Union) submitted an application to the CAC on 22 November 2021 that it should be recognised for collective bargaining by Nicholsons Sealing Technologies Ltd (the Employer) for a bargaining unit comprising of 鈥淎ll operators up to but excluding team leaders鈥�. 皇冠体育app location of the bargaining unit was given as Amos Drive, Greencroft Industrial Park, Stanley, County Durham, DH9 7YE. 皇冠体育app CAC gave both parties notice of receipt of the application on 22 November 2021. 皇冠体育app Employer submitted a response to the CAC dated 3 December 2021 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. 皇冠体育app Panel consisted of Ms Naeema Choudry, Panel Chair, and, as Members, Ms Gillian Woodcock and Ms Janice Beards. 皇冠体育app Case Manager appointed to support the Panel was Kaniza Bibi.

3) 皇冠体育app CAC Panel extended the acceptance period in this case. 皇冠体育app initial period expired on 6 December 2021. 皇冠体育app acceptance period was extended to 21 December 2021 and subsequently to 24 December 2021 in order to allow time for a membership check to take place, for the parties to comment on the subsequent report and the Panel to consider said comments before arriving at a decision.

2. Issues

4) 皇冠体育app CAC Panel is required by paragraph 15 of Schedule A1 to the Act (the Schedule) to decide whether the Union鈥檚 application to the CAC is valid within the terms of paragraphs 5 to 9; is made in accordance with paragraphs 11 or 12; is admissible within the terms of paragraphs 33 to 42; and therefore, should be accepted.

3. Summary of the Union鈥檚 application

5) In its application the Union said that it had written to the Employer with a formal request for recognition on 6 October 2021. 皇冠体育app Union attached a copy of the Employer鈥檚 response dated 15 October 2021. 皇冠体育app Union confirmed that following receipt of their request for recognition the Employer proposed that ACAS be requested to assist and copies of correspondence relating to this was attached.

6) 皇冠体育app Union stated that the total number of workers employed by the Employer was approximately 133 and that approximately 45-50 fell within the proposed bargaining unit. 皇冠体育app Union stated that it had 35% membership within the proposed bargaining unit. When asked to provide evidence that a majority of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit were likely to support recognition for collective bargaining, the Union said that it could provide evidence that 40% of the employees would support recognition of the Union.

7) 皇冠体育app Union stated that the reason for selecting the proposed bargaining unit was that the majority of its members were operators within the company.

8) 皇冠体育app Union confirmed that the bargaining unit had not been agreed with the Employer. In answer to the question was there an existing recognition agreement which it was aware of, the Union stated that there was no existing recognition agreement.

9) 皇冠体育app Union confirmed that it held a current certificate of Independence. 皇冠体育app Union stated that it had copied its application and supporting documents to the Employer on 19 November 2021.

4. Summary of the Employer鈥檚 response to the Union鈥檚 application

10) 皇冠体育app Employer stated that it had received the Union鈥檚 formal request for recognition on 6th October 2021 by email. When asked what its response was, the Employer stated that it had written a letter to the Union dated 15 October 2021 stating that it would be prepared to meet with Acas to discuss further.

11) 皇冠体育app Employer confirmed it had received a copy of the Union鈥檚 application and supporting documentation on 19 November 2021 by email.

12) 皇冠体育app Employer stated that it did not agree with the bargaining unit as proposed by the Union as it was insufficiently detailed and required further particularisation to be clarified. 皇冠体育app Employer stated that it had hoped to address the issue with ACAS but had not been able to.

13) 皇冠体育app Employer confirmed that the number of workers employed by them was 100. In answer to the question whether it disagreed with the number of workers in the proposed bargaining unit the Employer said it was unable to agree or disagree until the proposed unit was further particularised.

14) As to whether the Employer considered that a majority of the workers in the bargaining unit were likely to support recognition the Employer stated again that they were unable to appropriately respond until the proposed unit was further particularised.

15) 皇冠体育app Employer confirmed that there was currently no recognition agreement in place covering any of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit. As to whether it was aware of any previous application made under the Schedule by the Union in respect of this or a similar bargaining unit, the Employer stated that following a voluntary ballot in 2018 it was their understanding that the Union had submitted a Schedule A1 letter which they subsequently withdrew.

5. 皇冠体育app membership and support check

16) To assist the determination of two of the admissibility criteria specified in the Schedule, namely, whether 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit are members of the union (paragraph 36(1)(a)) and whether a majority of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit would be likely to favour recognition of the union as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit (paragraph 36(1)(b)), the Panel proposed an independent check of the level of union membership within the proposed bargaining unit. 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 workers within the proposed bargaining unit, and that the Union would supply to the Case Manager a list of its paid up members within that unit including their full names and dates of birth and a copy of a petition in support of recognition. It was explicitly agreed with both parties that, to preserve confidentiality, the respective lists would not be copied to the other party and that agreement was confirmed in a letter dated 1 December 2021 from the Case Manager to both parties. 皇冠体育app information requested from the Union was received by the CAC on 2 December 2021 and from the Employer on 3 December 2021. 皇冠体育app Panel is satisfied that the check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties.

17) 皇冠体育app list supplied by the Employer contained the names of 55 workers and the list of members supplied by the Union contained 22 names.

18) 皇冠体育app Union also provided a petition that consisted of 8 A4 sheets, all of which were headed with the Union鈥檚 logo and were set out as follows: 鈥淕MB @ work in Nicholson鈥檚 Sealing Technologies Limited. I, the undersigned, support GMB in recognition and collective bargaining. I consent to GMB using this date for the purpose of this petition.鈥� 皇冠体育appre then followed a table with columns headed Signature, Print Name, Workplace and Job Title.

19) According to the Case Manager鈥檚 report, the number of Union members in the proposed bargaining unit was 20, a membership level of 36.36%. 皇冠体育app check of the petition showed that it had been signed by 40 workers in the proposed bargaining unit, a figure which represents 60% of the proposed bargaining unit. 皇冠体育app proportion of workers in the proposed bargaining unit who had signed the petition and were union members was 34.55%. 皇冠体育app proportion of workers in the proposed bargaining unit who had signed the petition and were non-members was 25.45%.

20) A report of the result of the membership check was circulated to the Panel and the parties on 9 December 2021 and the parties鈥� comments invited. 皇冠体育app Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the agreement reached with the parties.

6. Parties鈥� comments on the membership and support check

21) In an e-mail to the CAC, dated 9 December 2021, the Union stated that they believed a couple of members had left since the application was submitted and that they were happy with the figures in the membership and support check.

22) In an e-mail to the CAC dated 16 December 2021 the Employer acknowledged that the report provided indicated that the claimed members of the union were at a level greater than 10 per cent of the workers constituting the proposed bargaining unit. In respect of the Union鈥檚 petition, the Employer stated that it did not know how long ago or the manner in which the petition was conducted. 皇冠体育app Employer stated that it did not believe that a petition necessarily represented the views of the employees. 皇冠体育app Employer stated that it knew that the employees had signed such a petition in the past but, when given the opportunity to express their views in a secret ballot conducted by Acas, the employees voted not to have the Union recognised on their behalf. 皇冠体育app Employer stated that as previously indicated, it remained committed to ensuring that their employees were best represented and were happy to continue to explore that in order to achieve the most appropriate outcome for all. 皇冠体育app Employer stated that given that the majority of the workers in the proposed BU were not reported as Union members, it would request that if the Union鈥檚 application for recognition was deemed admissible that a ballot should be held to best determine the desire of the workers in respect of recognition.

7. Considerations

23) In determining whether to accept the application the Panel must decide whether the admissibility and validity provisions referred to in paragraph 4 of this decision are satisfied. 皇冠体育app Panel has considered all the evidence submitted by the parties in reaching its decision.

24) 皇冠体育app Panel is satisfied that the Union made a valid request to the Employer within the terms of paragraphs 5 to 9 of the Schedule and that its application was made in accordance with paragraph 12. 皇冠体育app remaining issue for the Panel to address is whether the admissibility criteria set out in paragraph 36(1)(a) and paragraph 36(1)(b) are met.

8. Paragraph 36(1)(a)

25) 皇冠体育app membership check conducted by the Case Manager showed that 36.36% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit were members of the Union. As stated in paragraph 21 above, the Panel is satisfied that this check was conducted properly and impartially and in accordance with the arrangements agreed with the parties. 皇冠体育app Employer in their email of 16 December 2021 stated that they acknowledged that the report provided indicated that the claimed members of the Union were at a level greater than 10% of the workers constituting the proposed bargaining unit. 皇冠体育app Panel has therefore decided that members of the union constitute at least 10% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit as required by paragraph 36(1)(a) of the Schedule.

9. Paragraph 36(1)(b)

26) Under paragraph 36(1)(b) of the Schedule, an application is not admissible unless the Panel decides that a majority of the workers constituting the proposed bargaining unit would be likely to favour recognition of the union as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit.

27) 皇冠体育app Panel considers that members of the Union would be likely to favour recognition of the Union for collective bargaining (36.36%), as would non-union members who signed the petition (25.45%); giving a total of 61.81%. 皇冠体育app Panel notes that the Employer did not believe that a petition necessarily represented the views of their employees but no such evidence to the contrary was received in this case. On the basis of the evidence before it, the Panel has decided that, on the balance of probabilities, that a majority of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit would be likely to favour recognition of the Union as entitled to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the bargaining unit, as required by paragraph 36(1)(b) of the Schedule.

10. Decision

28) For the reasons given above, the Panel鈥檚 decision is that the application is accepted by the CAC.

Panel

Ms Naeema Choudry, Panel Chair

Ms Gillian Woodcock

Ms Janice Beards

23 December 2021