The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, has predicted a wave of union recognition deals in the private sector over the coming year as new rights for unions to access workplaces take effect. From Friday, as part of Labour's Employment Rights Act, unions will be able to enter workplaces or communicate with staff electronically, and from January employers will be obliged to inform workers of their right to join a union.
Nowak said the change could open up large parts of the private sector where unions had been trying to gain a foothold but had been hampered partly by the legal framework. “I think it potentially could be transformative,” he said. “My prediction would be that by this time next year, we'll have signed hundreds, if not thousands of new recognition agreements with employers, taking that union voice into the private sector in particular.”
The access rights are the latest element of the government's upgrade to workers' rights to be implemented. Rights to sick pay have already been extended, and further changes, including restrictions on zero hours contracts, are yet to come into force. Just over a fifth of the UK workforce are trade union members, down from more than half in 1979.
Polling carried out for the TUC by YouGov suggests 62% of workers would support a trade union negotiating on their behalf on pay and conditions, but 36% of those who are not members of a union say they would not know how to join one. Nowak pointed to a flurry of recent deals, citing agreements between John Lewis and Usdaw and between the GMB and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as evidence that some employers are responding before the rules have come into force. “What we're seeing is a whole range of employers, who have recognised that the legislation is changing, that the political climate is changed and are now reaching voluntary agreements with unions,” he said.
Under the new rules, there will be a formal process to request access to a workplace if a union cannot agree with the employer, overseen by the regulator, the Central Arbitration Committee. Previously, unions trying to win the right to represent a workforce have sometimes had to do so from outside the building, as was the case with the GMB's thwarted effort to win recognition at Amazon's warehouse near Coventry two years ago. Nowak said Labour's new approach “changes the mood, and I think it brings us much more into the European mainstream, which is that unions are part and parcel of the workplace”.
Some employers have complained about the potential costs of the new regime, but Nowak insisted good bosses need not worry. “Genuinely, employers have got nothing to fear from this. They shouldn't see their staff wanting an independent voice as somehow a negative verdict on them. You can work for a good, successful organisation and still want a strong, independent union voice,” he said.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- New legal rights from Friday let unions enter workplaces or contact staff electronically, giving them a route into private sector workplaces where they have struggled to organise.
- Polling for the TUC suggests most workers support union negotiation on pay and conditions, yet a large share of non-members do not know how to join, a gap the new rules are intended to close.
- If Nowak's prediction is borne out, hundreds or thousands of new recognition agreements could reshape bargaining coverage in the private sector; employers have warned of costs.
Background
The changes are part of Labour's Employment Rights Act, the government's upgrade to workers' rights. Sick pay has already been extended, and restrictions on zero hours contracts are still to come. Union membership in the UK now covers just over a fifth of the workforce, down from more than half in 1979. Under the new regime, unions that cannot agree with an employer can use a formal access request process overseen by the Central Arbitration Committee. Previously, as with the GMB's thwarted effort at Amazon's warehouse near Coventry two years ago, unions sometimes had to organise from outside the building.
Key Perspectives
- Paul Nowak (TUC general secretary): Says the new rights could be “transformative” and predicts “hundreds, if not thousands” of new recognition agreements in the private sector within a year; he insists employers “have got nothing to fear” from staff wanting a strong, independent union voice.
- Some employers: Have complained about the potential costs of the new regime.
What to Watch
- Whether the predicted wave of recognition deals materialises over the next year, with Nowak saying agreements could number in the hundreds or thousands.
- The January deadline for employers to inform workers of their right to join a union, and how the Central Arbitration Committee's workplace access process operates in practice.
- Further Employment Rights Act measures still to come, including restrictions on zero hours contracts, and employer reaction as more changes take effect.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedThe TUC chief predicts a wave of private-sector union recognition deals over the coming year as workplace access rules begin.Business | The Guardian: “The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, is predicting a wave of union recognition deals in the private sector over the next year as “transformative” rules on accessing workplaces come into force.”
- SupportedThe new access rights take effect from Friday and let unions enter workplaces or communicate with staff electronically.Business | The Guardian: “From Friday, as part of Labour’s Employment Rights Act, unions will have the right to enter workplaces or communicate with staff electronically.”
- SupportedNowak says employers are already reaching voluntary agreements with unions.Business | The Guardian: ““What we’re seeing is a whole range of employers, who have recognised that the legislation is changing, that the political climate is changed and are now reaching voluntary agreements with unions,” he said.”
- SupportedNowak said, “I think it potentially could be transformative.”Business | The Guardian: ““I think it potentially could be transformative,” Nowak said.”
- SupportedNowak predicted that by the same time next year unions would have signed hundreds, if not thousands, of new recognition agreements with employers.Business | The Guardian: ““My prediction would be that by this time next year, we’ll have signed hundreds, if not thousands of new recognition agreements with employers, taking that union voice into the private sector in particular.””
- SupportedFrom January, employers will have to inform workers of their right to join a union.Business | The Guardian: “From January, employers will be obliged to inform workers of their right to join a union.”
- SupportedTUC-commissioned YouGov polling suggests 62% of workers would support a union negotiating on their behalf on pay and conditions.Business | The Guardian: “Polling carried out for the TUC by YouGov suggests 62% of workers would support a trade union negotiating on their behalf on pay and conditions”
- SupportedThe polling suggests 36% of non-union members would not know how to join a union.Business | The Guardian: “but 36% of those who are not members of a union say they would not know how to join one.”
- SupportedNowak said, “What we're seeing is a whole range of employers, who have recognised that the legislation is changing, that the political climate is changed and are now reaching voluntary agreements with unions.”Business | The Guardian: ““What we’re seeing is a whole range of employers, who have recognised that the legislation is changing, that the political climate is changed and are now reaching voluntary agreements with unions,” he said.”
- SupportedNowak said Labour's new approach “changes the mood” and brings unions more into the European mainstream.Business | The Guardian: “Nowak said Labour’s new approach “changes the mood, and I think it brings us much more into the European mainstream, which is that unions are part and parcel of the workplace”.”
- SupportedNowak said employers had “got nothing to fear” and that employees can want a strong, independent union voice even at a good, successful organisation.Business | The Guardian: ““Genuinely, employers have got nothing to fear from this. They shouldn’t see their staff wanting an independent voice as somehow a negative verdict on them. You can work for a good, successful organisation and still want a strong, independent union voice.””
- SupportedIf a union and employer cannot agree on workplace access, a formal request process will be overseen by the Central Arbitration Committee.Business | The Guardian: “Under the new rules, there will be a formal process to request access to a workplace if a union cannot agree with the employer, which will be overseen by the regulator, the Central Arbitration Committee.”