The Central Arbitration Committee today publishes its first Annual Report since starting to operate the new statutory trade union recognition system in June 2000.The Report shows that the CAC took 57 recognition applications up to the end of the year (March 2001) of which:

27 were accepted, 3 rejected and 6 awaited a decision on acceptance;

21 were withdrawn before acceptance and 7 later (some because voluntary agreements had been reached);

7 resulted in statutory recognition being conferred.

The CAC's Chairman, Sir Michael Burton, said: "In early June, a year after starting work on the new recognition scheme, we were up to around 80 cases, some of which are still in progress - together with nine disclosure of information cases and one European Works Council case. Achieving voluntary deals or CAC decisions has required effort and patience on the part of unions and employers, for which we are grateful."

He added: "Our first year of handling recognition cases shows that we do not treat employers and unions as winners and losers. In dealing with recognition - now by far our largest task - we try to get them to find their own practical ways forward. It is they who have to make collective bargaining work, if that is what the work force want."`13

"Equally, our panels, made up of CAC members drawn from both sides of industry, do not take sides as between unions who bring cases and employers who dispute them. As the system requires, the CAC always considers the position of the work force, who although not parties to the case, should always be winners. The statutory system balances the needs of efficient management with the views of the majority of the work force."