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INSIGNIA HOTEL GROUP
Report on Trade Union Recognition
HR Director of Insignia Hotel Group
Employee Relations and Trade Union recognition within
the Catering Sector
Introduction
The following four sections address and evaluate the implication
of Trade Union recognition within the Insignia Hotel group.
This report is designed to provide you with some useful insight
into the above issue and should provide you with informed
opinions and recommendations regarding the best possible form
of action for your organisation based on the information I
have received. This report has been broken down into four
sections in order to ensure that all of the issues are covered
in a logical and coherent manner, to promote ease of use and
quick reference both now and in the future. The sections of
this report are organised as follows:
Trade Union Recognition
Overview - Definition of Trade Union
The Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS,
2003) refers to a Trade Union in terms of an organisation
of workers, responsible for protecting and developing the
interests of its members through negotiation with employers
for improved pay and conditions in the work place. This definition
will be used in conjunction with the remainder of this report.
 The IUF
There are a number of different types of trade union for different
industries. The International Union of Food, Agricultural,
Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations
(IUF) is the international federation of Trade Union's responsible
for representing workers employed in agriculture and plantations,
manufacture of food and beverages, tobacco processing and
the HRCT sector which includes hotels, restaurants and catering
services. The IUF exists to strengthen member unions through
mutual support therefore it will be necessary to contact (See
appendix one) the IUF should you decide that union recognition
in your organisation is a viable option. The IUF currently
consists of 336 trade unions in 120 countries with a combined
membership of over 12 million workers.
Trade Unions
A Trade Union is recognised by an employer when it negotiates
pay and other terms of employment on behalf of its members,
but it's important to note that trade unions are more than
organisations that negotiate pay and conditions of employment.
Salamon (2000) argued that the function and activities of
trade unions are not confined exclusively to workplace or
even employment issues. Management also need to be aware of
new laws and legislations - not least the National Minimum
Wage. With strict European Law - including:
" The Trade Union Act of 1984
" The Trades Union Reform And Employment Rights Act of
1993
" The Employment Rights Act of 1996
" The Employment Relations Act of 1999
Not to mention the numerous Health and Safety acts and strict
regulations as employers you must follow. (Please refer to
the online database "Emire" if you require further
information on European Employment law). It's not surprising
that management are anxious to constrain, rather than support
trade unionism, particularly in the Hotel and Catering industry.
By law there are two types of trade unions; the "Independent
Trade Union" declared by the certification officer to
"not be under the domination or control of an employer"
(Salamon, 2000) and the "Recognised Trade Union".
Of course there is no such thing as a typical trade union
or non-union company. What usually happens in non-union organisations
is that an employer will deal directly with workers who have
an employee relation problem, and they determine pay increases
or other terms without negotiating with representatives. When
a company recognises its Trade Union, representatives will
negotiate with employers on behalf of its members, which means
that representatives will need to be elected, and the company
will have to provide those representatives will paid time
off to carry out their Trade Union duties. It should also
be noted that since 2000 workers have had the right to be
accompanied by a colleague or by a Trade Union official if
they have an issue relating to employment. (ACAS Org, 2003)
The route to recognition
To recognise a trade union in your organisation will rely
on the union being able to support its members effectively,
and your hotel group will need to ensure that there are resources
available to the elected representatives. Since you have received
a formal request from an independent union for recognition
you will need to use the information gathered in this report
to either agree or disagree. If an agreement is reached within
a period of 10 working days after you have received the union's
request for recognition, the recognition procedure will be
regarded as finalised. As an employer you will then have 10
working days from the day after you received the request to
begin negotiations, and 30 working days from that date to
conclude them (ACAS Website).
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, 2003) noted that
the provisions for gaining union recognition under the Employment
Relations Act 1999 came into effect in June 2000. In order
to apply for Trade Union recognition, you will need to go
through the central arbitration council (CAC).
The decisions it makes are legally binding, and a Trade Union
must first make a formal application to the organisation concerned
and must also hold a 10% employee membership, so to ensure
that attracting a majority support in a ballot would be highly
plausible.
If you decide to opt for Trade union recognition it can broaden
your agenda in two ways according to Salamon (2000). Most
importantly it can improve your employees quality of working
life and indirectly influence your groups performance (positively).
A Trade union will also be able to provide your management
with sound and effective HRM strategies - some of which I
have outlined in part three of this report. Any agreement
however should cover three areas according to Salamon (2000):
1. The rights of management and the rights of the unions to
represent its member's interest
2. The intended scope of collective bargaining, including
wages, hours, holidays, other benefits and working arrangements
3. The role of workplace representatives
I note that one of the fundamental problems for trade unions
is that they need to represent their existing members, whilst
improving their appeal to those employees who are not members,
but details explaining why Trade Unions have failed to make
an impact on the hotel and catering industry are detailed
in part two of this report. At this point you should also
be aware that there are two levels of union recognition to
consider; Procedural, which does not give the union the right
to be involved in determining terms of employment and secondly
negotiation, giving the right to joint determination of the
terms employment, which should be your ultimate goal (Salamon,
2002)
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