Farewell Mitie – hello 14forty

Telecoms & Financial Services, Capita January 19 2018

Scores of CWU members working at Capita sites in Leeds, Bury, Preston Brook and Glasgow have transferred to a new employer following the termination of Capita’s contract with facilities services provider Mitie and the signing of a new contact with Compass Group.

The upheaval affects catering staff within the CWU’s former Gather & Gather bargaining unit and also a number of members conducting cleaning and security functions for Capita by Mitie Group under a separate contact.

The transfer to Compass Group’s 14forty division, which came into effect on Monday (January 15), has been closely monitored by the CWU to ensure all terms and conditions transferred over unchanged, in line with so-called Transfer of Undertakings/ Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations

Talks have now commenced over the transfer of the CWU’s former recognition agreement covering catering staff, with the CWU pressing for its extension to cover cleaning and security staff in Leeds, Bury, Preston Brook and Glasgow who have not previously benefitted from collective bargaining rights.

Overall, however, the TUPE covers around 900 former Mitie staff at well over 200 Capita sites, including 28 Capita Contact Centre Management (CCM) locations – providing interesting future possibilities for further CWU recruitment beyond the former Telefonica/O2 sites where the union’s membership is concentrated.

“The term ‘from small acorns’ springs to mind,” said CWU assistant secretary Brendan O’Brien, stressing, however, that “our first target is to get the recognition deal back in place covering our catering membership in Leeds, Bury, Preston Brook and Glasgow and, secondly, getting it extended to cover all 14forty  people, security and cleaners, at those four sites.”