Employer against Union being recognised- Help please.

bob_dob

Apologies. No, there is a 'factory floor' and an 'office staff', by which I mean sales people, a drawing office, etc.

Would I be right in thinking that what has probably happened is the GMB has approached the company with proof that there is over 50% of us in their union and asking to be recognised, the company has then basically said that they will recognise the union if the office staff are included, hoping that GMB will refuse this, thus giving the company an opportunity to attempt to prove that it won't be 'compatible with effective management'? So GMB have attempted to 'nip this in the bud' by agreeing to the office staff to be included?

ohreally

I would be relaxed over this. Get the recognition agreement in place then you can start looking at the local organisation and structure and how effectively it functions.

Little steps to start.

LittleVoice

ohreally wrote: »

I would be relaxed over this. Get the recognition agreement in place then you can start looking at the local organisation and structure and how effectively it functions.

Little steps to start.

It seems to me that, unfortunately, if the office staff are included in a vote and then vote against recognition in sufficient numbers to dilute the shopfloor workers' votes to below automatic recognition levels, then there will be no recognition agreement in place.

The OP presumes that the company is offering to recognise the GMB if the office staff are included in the bargaining unit but I would not necessarily interpret the union's proposal in that way. The GMB would doubtless like to include the office staff if, in that way, they obtained more members - but that is not guaranteed.

ohreally

LittleVoice wrote: »

It seems to me that, unfortunately, if the office staff are included in a vote and then vote against recognition in sufficient numbers to dilute the shopfloor workers' votes to below automatic recognition levels, then there will be no recognition agreement in place.

Unless i've got the wrong end of the stick, the only individuals voting should be GMB members, not a general straw poll from office staff.

anamenottaken

ohreally wrote: »

Unless i've got the wrong end of the stick, the only individuals voting should be GMB members, not a general straw poll from office staff.

Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, in order to force the company to recognise the Union, 40% of the bargaining unit must vote in favour of recognition, irrespective of whether or not they are members of any union (not limited to GMB).

bob_dob

anamenottaken wrote: »

Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, in order to force the company to recognise the Union, 40% of the bargaining unit must vote in favour of recognition, irrespective of whether or not they are members of any union (not limited to GMB).

Hi, but the proof of the +50% of the factory floor has been provided to the employer, does this mean that there now must be another 'check' to make sure that +50% of the 'batgaining unit' are union members, please?

anamenottaken

bob_dob wrote: »

Hi, but the proof of the +50% of the factory floor has been provided to the employer, does this mean that there now must be another 'check' to make sure that +50% of the 'batgaining unit' are union members, please?

I don't know where ohreally found the text posted in # but salient paragraphs are,

If the union has recruited more than half the workers in the bargaining unit, the CAC may be able to award recognition without the need for a ballot. Only a minority of unions have achieved statutory recognition this way. Generally, the claim goes through a series of procedures and is most likely to be concluded by means of a secret ballot of workers.

To win a recognition ballot it is not enough simply to get a majority of the votes cast (50% plus one). At least 40% of the entire bargaining unit must also vote in favour of recognition. In effect, abstentions count as votes against the union.

The 50%+ of Union membership would not have to be accepted by the employer but the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) may do so. It seems to me that they then would have to look at both shopfloor and office as a single group. You can't say this is a single unit but actually for recognition we'll just ask you to look at one segment.

I think it is not so much about a "check" but a more formal vote - of all the workers in the proposed bargaining unit.

The GMB people should be the best placed to advise you on what is happening with your employer.