TUC general secretary Paul Nowak predicts a wave of private-sector union recognition deals over the next year.
New rules give unions ways to reach workers
From Friday, unions gain the right to enter workplaces or communicate with staff electronically under Labour's Employment Rights Act. The two routes let unions approach workers in person or through electronic communication. The change concerns access and contact; recognition agreements are a separate part of Nowak’s prediction. His forecast is that employers and unions will make new agreements, while the new rights establish ways for unions to reach staff.¹
From January, employers must inform workers of their right to join a union. That places a duty on employers to tell staff about union membership, alongside the access rights that begin earlier. The rules address two different points of contact: unions can approach workers, and employers must tell workers they have the right to join. Neither measure is itself a recognition deal; the forecast concerns agreements between unions and employers.¹
From January, employers must inform workers of their right to join a union.
A formal process applies when workplace access is disputed
If a union and an employer cannot agree on workplace access, the new rules provide a formal process for the union to request it. The Central Arbitration Committee oversees that process. This sets out what happens when the parties do not reach agreement voluntarily: a union can make a formal request, and the committee oversees the route. The provision concerns access to a workplace, rather than the recognition agreements Nowak predicts.¹
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Read More →Nowak points to agreements between John Lewis and Usdaw, and between the GMB and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as examples of employers responding before the rules take effect. Those arrangements show that agreements have been made ahead of the new requirements. They also provide two examples from different organisations of the kind of employer-union agreement Nowak expects to see more widely. The examples are already in place; the new access and information rules begin separately.¹
Polling shows support alongside uncertainty about joining
Polling by YouGov for the TUC suggests 62% of workers would support a trade union negotiating on their behalf on pay and conditions. The measure concerns support for collective negotiation on two workplace issues: pay and conditions. It does not count recognition agreements or union members. Nowak’s prediction concerns deals between unions and employers; the poll records workers’ stated support for a union negotiating on their behalf.¹
At the same time, 36% of workers who are not union members say they would not know how to join one. That finding concerns knowledge of how to become a member, not opposition to union representation. Set beside the support for negotiation, it records two different responses: some workers support a union negotiating on pay and conditions, while a share of non-members do not know the steps for joining. The poll figures address workers’ views and awareness, not completed agreements.¹
Membership remains below its earlier level as rights change
Just over a fifth of the UK workforce are trade union members, down from more than half in 1979. The figures describe membership, not the share of workers covered by recognition agreements. Nowak’s forecast of hundreds or thousands of new deals is about agreements with employers; it does not change the membership figures already recorded. He said the new approach “changes the mood” and brings unions more into the European mainstream, where unions are “part and parcel of the workplace.”¹
Nowak predicts “hundreds, if not thousands” of new recognition agreements with employers. The change in union access sits within a wider upgrade to workers’ rights: rights to sick pay have already been extended, while further changes, including restrictions on zero-hours contracts, have yet to come into force. The GMB’s effort to win recognition at Amazon’s warehouse near Coventry was thwarted two years ago. Nowak said, “Genuinely, employers have got nothing to fear from this.”¹
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Read More →At the same time, 36% of workers who are not union members say they would not know how to join one.
Union access changes your workplace leverage
If you work in a private-sector role, the new union access rights change what you can ask for. From Friday, unions can enter workplaces or contact staff electronically, and from January your employer must tell you about your right to join. That means you can now seek union support without relying on your employer's goodwill. If you are negotiating pay or conditions, you can point to the 62% of workers who support union negotiation on those issues as evidence that collective voice is mainstream.¹
For job seekers and employees, the practical shift is in knowing how to join. Since 36% of non-members do not know the steps, learning the joining process is a concrete skill to build now. Also, watch for employers who sign recognition deals early, like John Lewis and the GMB's agreement with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. When choosing an employer, ask whether a union is recognised; that question carries more weight as hundreds or thousands of new deals are predicted.¹
Sources
Written by Career Ahead AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify key facts. Report errors to support@careeraheadonline.com
