Unite has secured union recognition at Milk & More following a successful campaign against the DTC dairy business.
The result means workers at three depots in Erith, Ipswich and Watford will be able to call on Unite for support over pay and working conditions, health and safety representation, and workplace advice.
Milk & More terminated its long-standing national voluntary recognition agreement with Unite and shopworkers’ union Usdaw last April, although recognition formally ended in October.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called the result “an outstanding victory for our members and for every worker who believed they deserved an independent voice at work”.
“This shows there is power in a union and demonstrates what workers can achieve when they work together,” she continued.
Graham added: “Unite will now be actively looking at other Milk & More depots and at the next round of pay negotiations.”
Launched in October, the campaign to regain recognition at Milk & More pursued a “new statutory route”, according to Unite, with the union submitting three separate applications to the Central Arbitration Committee.
Although Milk & More challenged the applications throughout the process, the Committee accepted Unite’s proposed bargaining units in each case, allowing independent recognition ballots to proceed.
Subsequently, all three depots voted for Unite to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf.
Unite regional officer Perry Wright said the victory belonged to workplace representatives, activists and members “who spent months organising, recruiting, speaking to colleagues and demonstrating the value of collective bargaining”.
“Their determination has restored workers’ voices in the workplace,” he said.
Milk & More was approached for comment.
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