THE battle for the trade union recognition of EDF Energy workers transferred to Morrison Data Services has been hailed as a key victory by Unite, the country’s largest union.

About 40 meter readers had unanimously voted for strike action if Morrison’s, based in Newcastle, had not recognised the EDF workers after they had been transferred.

However, following talks between Unite and the management under the auspices of the conciliation service, Acas, a recognition agreement was hammered out.

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said: “This is a significant victory. The issue was union recognition after EDF transferred its meter readers in the London, south east and south west regions to Morrison Data Services. Following the ballot for strike action the employers agreed to talks which took place under Acas’ umbrella.

“The result is a recognition agreement with Unite to cover that section of the business transferred from EDF to Morrison’s. Members have now agreed with the proposal which the union recommended. It is an important win – in many cases where similar transfers happen, the recognition agreement does not transfer.

“Unless one exists at the new company, we end up losing recognition which can often be detrimental to the pay, employment conditions, and health and safety of our members. This was a fight worth fighting.”