Unions

Question 1

What is collective bargaining

Answer 1

If a trade union has a recognition agreement with an employer, it allows the trade unions who are recognised to negotiate on behalf of their members their terms and conditions of employment including pay, employment policies and any other major changes in the organisation.

Question 2

In section 178 (1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act, what matters are listed for collective bargaining?

Answer 2

 terms and conditions of employment and physical conditions of work
 engagement or non-engagement or termination or suspension of employment
or the duties of employment of one or more worker
 allocation of work duties of employment as between workers or groups of workers
 matters of discipline
 a worker‘s membership or non-membership of a trade union
 facilities for trade union representatives
 machinery for consultation and negotiation and other procedures (including grievance procedures), including recognition of the right of a trade union to represent workers in such negotiation or consultation.

Question 3

What is a recognition agreement?

Answer 3

It is a formal agreement that provides a framework for industrial relations within an organisation. It sets out the rules and procedures to be used by the union and the employer in carrying out consultation, collective bargaining and representation.

Question 4

What will a good recognition agreement contribute to?

Answer 4

• positive employment relations between unions and management
• high levels of employee participation
• effective procedures when dealing with problems and organisational change.

Question 5

What types trade union recognition are there?

Answer 5

1. Voluntary - An employer can enter into voluntary recognition with a trade union without the involvement of the CAC.
2. Semi-voluntary – It is better for all parties if recognition is settled before any legal proceeding take place. Even after the procedure for statutory recognition has been triggered the parties have various opportunities to settle voluntarily and exit the process. The CAC class this as semi-voluntary recognition and each party involved can apply to the CAC for a specific method of collective bargaining.
3. Statutory recognition – An application to the CAC may result in ‘statutory recognition’ for a designated bargaining unit.

Question 6

What is the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC)?

Answer 6

The Central Arbitration Committee is an independent tribunal with statutory powers. The CAC decides all matters in relation to recognition if the trade union and the employer cannot agree on voluntary recognition. If the employer disagrees with the bargaining unit proposed by the trade union, the CAC defines it based on various criteria set out in their procedure.
Legal recognition allows the union to engage in collective bargaining on
pay, hours and holidays. For the CAC to grant recognition the union must
show through a ballot or through their levels of membership that it has the support of a majority of the bargaining unit.
The Act was designed to encourage voluntary recognition, and by reviewing the last five years of the CAC’s annual reports it is clear that employers have favoured the voluntary route.

Question 7

What is a bargaining unit?

Answer 7

A group of workers on whose behalf a recognised trade union conducts collective bargaining. The bargaining unit usually consists of all workers (whether or not they are members of the union) performing a particular role or roles for an employer.
If not agreed between the union and the employer, an appropriate bargaining unit may be set by the Central Arbitration Committee following an application for compulsory recognition.

Determining the bargaining group is one of the most important parts of applying for statutory recognition – if the bargaining group is rejected by the CAC the union is banned from reapplying for statutory recognition for three years after the application has been rejected.

Question 8

What steps should be taken to request unions recognition from the employer?

Answer 8

Once the union has decided what bargaining unit it wishes to represent, it should submit a request in writing to the employer for recognition. The request must clearly identify:
• The request is being made under Schedule A1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;
• The request clearly state the bargaining unit in the letter;
• Copies of the letter should be stored as a record and the CAC recommend that applications are sent special delivery so that the union can verify that the request was received by the employer.

Question 9

What must a Union do to try and get recognised?

Answer 9

Firstly they must request voluntary recognition from the employer. This must be done in writing and must;

• give the name of the union
• identify which employees will be represented by the union when it’s recognised, sometimes known as the bargaining unit
• state that the union is making the request under Schedule A1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

If the employer refuses and employs more than 21 people, then the union can request statutory recognition.

Question 10

Once you have a received an application for recognition from a Union, what are your 3 options?

Answer 10

• agree to recognise the union voluntarily - and begin collective bargaining
• reject the request - the union may then apply for statutory recognition
• refuse the initial request but agree to negotiate

Question 11

How many days do you have to respond to a application?

Answer 11

10 working days

Question 12

If you have agreed to negotiate with the unions, how many days do you have to do this and what will you be negotiating?

Answer 12

20 working days

• which employees are in the bargaining unit
• whether the union should be recognised for collective bargaining

Question 13

How many days from agreeing to negotiate do you have to get ACAS involved?

Answer 13

10 working days

Question 14

What are the requirements of the Union to be eligible to apply for statutory recognition?

Answer 14

• they’ve sent you a copy of their application and any supporting documents
• they have at least 10% union membership within the proposed bargaining unit
• they have evidence that a majority of employees are in favour of recognition, eg a petition

Question 15

When can a union not apply for statutory recognition?

Answer 15

• they’ve applied for recognition in the last 3 years
• they aren’t a certified independent union
• there’s already a recognition agreement that allows another union to represent employees in the bargaining unit
• another union - representing 10% of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit - has already applied to CAC

Question 16

What are the CAC’s next steps after receiving an application?

Answer 16

They will have 10 working days to respond and will either:

• ask for more information so they can make a decision
• reject the application if the union hasn’t met the requirements
• accept the union’s application

Question 17

If a bargaining unit has not been agreed with the Union when the CAC accept the application, what information must be sent by the employer to the CAC?

Answer 17

• a list of the categories of employees who will be in the proposed bargaining unit, eg technical and skilled, but not managers
• a list of the places where they work
• the number of employees in each category at each workplace

Question 18

How does the CAC decide on the bargaining unit?

Answer 18

CAC will hold a hearing and decide the bargaining unit based on:

• your views and those of the union
• compatibility with effective management of your company
• existing national and bargaining arrangements

Question 19

What does SIP Stand for and what do they do?

Answer 19

Suitable Independent person. They help with the communication between the employer and the union.

Question 20

What information needs to be sent to the SIP?

Answer 20

the names and addresses of:

• employees in the proposed bargaining unit
• any employees who join or leave the bargaining unit

Question 21

Who will decide if there needs to be a ballot for union recognition?

Answer 21

CAC

Question 22

Who will pick up the cost of the ballot?

Answer 22

The cost will be split equally between the employer and the union.

Question 23

What must the employer do during the ballot?

Answer 23

• make sure the union can talk to employees in the bargaining unit, eg allow them to hold meetings without you
• give CAC a list of names and addresses of employees in the bargaining unit - and update it when people join or leave
• not ask employees to miss meetings, unless it’s absolutely necessary
• not threaten or take any action against a worker because they attended a meeting

Question 24

What happens after the ballot?

Answer 24

You should receive the results within 48 hours. The CAC will declare the union recognised if both;

• the majority of employees in the ballot vote to recognise the union
• at least 40% of the employees in the bargaining unit vote to recognise the union

Question 25

If the CAC declares that the Union is recognised, what must the employer collectively bargain on?

Answer 25

• Pay
• Hours
• Holiday entitlement

Question 26

What happens if the CAC does not declare the Union Recognised?

Answer 26

The Union will not be able to apply for statutory recognition for another 3 years. They would still be able to be recognised voluntarily.

Question 27

When can employers or employees apply for de-recognition of the unions?

Answer 27

3 years after they have been recognised by the CAC.

Question 28

In what situations can a an employer apply?

Answer 28

• the number of people employed by the company has fallen to less than 21
• workers in the bargaining unit no longer support the union
• the number of union members in the bargaining unit has fallen to below 50%

Question 29

When can workers apply for de-recognition?

Answer 29

• You can apply to have a union derecognised if workers in the bargaining unit no longer support the union and don’t want to be represented by the union.
• You can apply to have a non-independent union derecognised if the majority of workers do not support it.

Question 30

When can an employer apply to the central arbitration committee for de-recognition of a union?

Answer 30

This can be done when you believe that the following is true
- you’ve employed less than 21 people for a continuous 13-week period
-it is more than 3 years since recognition was declared by the CAC
This application must be done in writing.

Question 31

What must be included on the letter to the CAC to apply for de-recognition?

Answer 31

• the specific 13-week period during which you had less than 21 workers
• the number of workers you employed in that time
• the current bargaining arrangements
• the date you want the arrangements to end - this must be at least 35 working days after the request was made

Question 32

If employees no longer want to be recognised because there isn’t enough support for this, how do they go about it?

Answer 32

You must send a written request to the union, stating:

• that you wish to end the bargaining arrangements because you believe that the union no longer has the support of the workers
• what the current arrangements are
• that the request is made under Schedule A1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

Question 33

What happens if Union rejects the application from the workers to be de-recognised but agrees to negotiate?

Answer 33

If they reject your request but agree to negotiate, you’ll have another 20 working days to come to an agreement about derecognition.
Within this period, either side can ask the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to help with negotiations. You may extend this period if the union agrees.

Question 34

What happens if Union rejects the application from the workers to be de-recognised or doesn’t respond?

Answer 34

You can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to hold a secret ballot of workers to see if they support derecognition.
You can only apply if both of these are true:

• the union has been recognised for longer than 3 years
• there haven’t been any applications to CAC for de-recognition in the previous 3 years