On 17 January, the firm withdrew from its “voluntary agreement to have a Collective Bargaining Unit (CBU)”, ending the recognition of both Unite the Union and GMB Union after 30 years.
Both unions have issued statements in response mooting potential strike action, depending on a vote among members.
Meanwhile, the unions warned that the move to remove their recognition could be a precursor to changing workers’ terms and conditions, with GMB arguing that it left workers exposed to fire and rehire tactics.
However, Bidfood hit back at what it described as “highly inflammatory and untrue claims” made by GMB in the aftermath of its decision.
“We want to make it clear that we are in no way threatening a ‘fire and rehire’ of our employees, nor are we planning to change their terms and conditions,” said a Bidfood spokesperson.
“It’s really disappointing to see GMB attempt to scaremonger in order to foster mistrust and doubt among our employees. This further cements our view that this is not the collaborative approach we aspired to have between ourselves and the trade unions.”
Explaining the original rationale behind removing the unions’ recognition, the spokesperson added: “This was not a decision we made lightly, however we’ve found in recent years that the CBU is not reflective of the interests of the majority of our employees and is therefore not fully representative of those working within transport or our warehouse roles, with a number of employees voicing concerns and frustrations over long delays in resolving issues.”
‘All options open’
Delivering food across 12 sectors including hospitals, schools and prisons, Bidfood employs thousands of staff across 26 depots in the UK.
The majority of Unite’s members are based at sites in Battersea, Birmingham, Plymouth and Salisbury, while GMB represents workers across the country.
Discussing how the unions would respond, GMB national officer Nadine Houghton explained that “all options are open” including a vote on strike action.
“GMB, Unite and Bidfood have successfully worked together to improve workers’ pay, terms and conditions since at least the 1990s,” Houghton said.
“Our members work hard delivering vital food supplies for the army, prisons and schools across the UK. They deserve the protections union recognition brings. Without us, bosses will be able to do what they want, ripping up their contracts and enforcing worse terms and conditions.”
Meanwhile, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Bidfood of “union busting”.
“Unite will not tolerate such behaviour at any level,” Graham said.
“Unite’s focus is always on defending its members and Bidfood needs to reverse its perverse decision or face the inevitable consequences.”
Unite national officer Adrian Jones added: “Bidfood’s actions are disgraceful and Unite is considering all options about how to respond including industrial action.
“The company’s clients will be alarmed they could be facing a spring of cancelled deliveries, due to industrial action and should be demanding to know exactly what Bidfood is playing at.”
Next steps
With the unions no longer recognised, Bidfood said that it will communicate with workers via its employee engagement forums.
“We believe [the forums] represent a wider range of our employees’ views across all sites, and are a more agile, effective and collaborative way to listen, discuss and resolve matters that are important to our employees, in real time,” the spokesperson said.
“We really value our people and pride ourselves on being a people business. We take the importance of listening to and supporting them incredibly seriously, and we value contributions and feedback from all of our employees. We remain committed to ensuring an open approach to discussing and tackling issues and wholeheartedly believe this is a positive step for our business and our people.”
