Vodafone forced to connect with comms union

Around 200 Vodafone workers in the Midlands, the North of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have gained union recognition.

The mobile giant has been required to recognise communications union Connect following a legal ruling by independent adjudication body, the Central Arbitration Committee.

Vodafone must now consult with Connect on the pay, hours and holiday allowance of its network infrastructure staff in these regions. The ruling covers staff working in Vodafone's Regional Operations North.

Adrian Askew, Connect's general secretary, said in a statement: "This is a landmark victory for our members in Vodafone and it is a tribute to how they have come together to demand a say in their working lives."

He added: "The hard work now lies ahead of us, representing our members and influencing the decisions that affect them. We look forward to building a constructive and forward-looking relationship with the company and demonstrating the long-term benefits that come from having a union voice at the table."

Talks between Vodafone and Connect had been ongoing since November last year but the pair failed to reach agreement. Connect then applied for legally enforced recognition.

The union has also separately submitted a claim for recognition for around 250 Vodafone employees at Regional Operations South in the South of England. A decision on that is still pending.

A Vodafone spokesman told silicon.com: "Vodafone UK engages positively and constructively with unions. Vodafone UK also remains convinced the most effective form of engagement with its employees is through direct engagement and things that we use at the moment include recorded messages, online information, printed newsletters as a way of keeping employees informed but performance dialogues are also held with each employee twice yearly as well as monthly meetings with line managers."

The spokesman added: "Most areas of the company regularly hold forum meetings and during those questions can be asked of senior management in addition to road shows and visits from the executive team so we try and be as transparent and open as we can."