We decide who represents us!Pearson staff speak with one voice Ninety-three members of staff at Pearson UK Schools in north Oxford have signed a petition to their MD Jacob Pienaar, calling on him to convene a meeting with the elected representatives and officials from the NUJ and Unite to discuss an agreement for joint recognition.
The petition was signed by 70% of staff in Content Development, Market Planning, Design & Media and the eligible roles in Digital Product Development – areas that had been on the point of balloting on whether they wished to be represented by the NUJ. As more than 70% of those staff had already indicated they were in favour of NUJ recognition, it was fairly clear which way that vote would have gone, but the ballot was pre-empted by the company, which decided instead to give exclusive representation rights to another union – Unite. A number of colleagues from the Unite area joined in the petition, to highlight the unfairness of the whole deal.
“This is about who represents the interests of staff in collective bargaining with the company,” said Selina Lim, Equality Officer. “It can’t be right that management impose their choice against our wishes – staff feel bewildered and very let down. The signatories to this petition are asking for the company to put in place a joint NUJ/Unite agreement, just like the ones that operate at other Pearson companies like Penguin/DK and the Financial Times. Union recognition has been an issue here for a long time, and it won’t go away until it is fairly resolved. We are committed to seeing that happen as soon as possible.”
AW 2009-04-03
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