Derecognition

The legislation also sets out the circumstances in which the employer or workers can apply to the CAC to have a union with statutory recognition derecognised. In general, statutory derecognition can only take place three years or more after recognition was granted.

Where recognition was voluntary, no formal statutory mechanism or procedure is needed in order for an employer to derecognise a union, and there is no set timescale. In the past, formal derecognition of a union has been a rare occurrence, but given the current hostile political climate, it is perhaps unsurprising to see a rise in instances of voluntary derecognition. Examples include the shock decision by Plymouth City Council to derecognise public services union UNISON in August 2011 after it refused to sign a new collective agreement, a decision quickly reversed after a high profile campaign. In other recent examples, Unite was derecognised by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust in February 2013 after raising concerns about patient safety, and Virgin Media derecognised both the CWU and BECTU, in a move unions believe was coordinated by union-busting specialists. In the Scottish higher education sector, Robert Gordon University derecognised both the University College Union and Unite.

On the international stage, in July 2013, the United Nations took the extraordinary step of derecognising all trade unions, even though the UN views trade union representation as a human right.