Vodafone victory at last

Telecoms giant Vodafone has finally been forced to concede union recognition for the first time within its UK operations, after a long battle with communication workers’ union Connect (see July’s Workplace Report).

The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) awarded statutory recognition for around 200 staff in Vodafone’s Regional Operations North division in July, rejecting the company’s argument that the bargaining unit should also cover the 250 staff in Regional Operations South.

This second region, meanwhile, was the subject of a further statutory recognition claim from the union. Once the CAC confirmed that a majority of employees in the region were union members, the company notified the union that it would also accept recognition for those staff.