Union avoiders get report change

Union-avoidance consultants The Burke Group (TBG) have managed to get the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which oversees the statutory recognition process, to revise a statement about the company made in a report issued in April.

The original report covered the recognition claim at telecoms firm Cable & Wireless by the CWU communication workers’ union.

The CAC report noted the CWU’s concern that TBG had been hired by the company as a result of the consultants’ role in the CWU’s unsuccessful recognition campaign at the T-Mobile phone company.

The CAC had ruled that the reputation of TBG was irrelevant to the question in hand, but its panel did say that “it shares the union’s concern that TBG has an unfortunate track record, according to union and academic sources”.

However, TBG complained about the phrase, saying the union’s allegations had not been independently verified, and the CAC agreed to re-issue the report. The revised document reads merely: “TBG is alleged by the union to have an unfortunate track record”.