In August 2011, Plymouth City Council derecognised Unison, the largest union among its staff, after it refused to sign a new collective agreement. Unison alleged that the agreement meant worse pay and conditions for staff and was potentially discriminatory and called derecognition an ‘aggressive and disproportionate response’. After the agreement was revised, Unison agreed to sign it if recognition was restored. Re-recognition was granted in mid-September.
The case underlined union concerns that, in the context of public spending cuts, employers elsewhere in the public sector (where recognition is traditionally very high) might use derecognition to push through cuts in pay and conditions – either as a bargaining tactic or as a longer-term strategy.