Castle View builds new bridges with Unison

Contract caterer Castle View Services has signed a "memorandum of understanding" with public sector union Unison, which it derecognised four years ago after a bitter dispute over a contract in Brighton.

School-meal catering occupies more than half of the 5,000 staff at Castle View, which also handles the business sector through its Yes Dining arm and runs a small international business.

Under the agreement, which will be reviewed in six months, the company and the union will form a partnership for staff training. Castle View will reinstate the payment of subscriptions through the payroll, will allow a Unison representative on its employee forums, and will not derecognise existing unions when it takes on new contracts.

Hugh Owens, Castle View's human resources manager, said that this move towards a more constructive and formalised relationship with the union reflected major changes in the employment and contracting markets over the past few years.

The company has fallen foul of the complex Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations in the past, and Owens believed that Unison had a big role to play in helping the company deal with the legislation.

Castle View is working towards similar agreements with the GMB and the TGWU.

Christine Lewis, national officer at Unison, said that more companies were seeking better relationships with unions or making full recognition since the Labour Government came to power.

By Angela Frewin