Rejected petition Employers with more than 50 employees recognise and accept at least one trade union in the workplace

Having a trade union in the workplace is a part of a functioning democracy.
At present in Wales there is no obligation for employers to recognise a trade union in the workplace, and there is no obligation for an employer to ballot employees on issues that affect their employment.
Where trade unions are recognised by an employer, employees often enjoy better terms of employment, and have professional representation and protection in negotiating disputes, and areas of potential conflict.

More details

Evidence of the benefits of trade unions:

"The Value of Trade Unions in Wales - evidence review"
Wales Centre for public policy/ Canoflan Polisi Cyhoeddus Cymru
https://www.wcpp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/190821-WCPP-report-value-of-trade-unions_final-clean.pdf

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the Senedd or Welsh Government is not responsible for.

The Government of Wales Act 2006 establishes the extent of the Senedd’s power to make new laws and amend existing law (also known as legislative competence). Schedules 7A and 7B of the 2006 Act set out the issues which are ‘restricted’ or ‘reserved’ - i.e. areas where the UK Parliament, not the Senedd, can legislate.

Paragraph 141 of Schedule 7A states that legislative powers over industrial relations are reserved to the UK Parliament and expressly refers to the subject matter of the Employment Rights Act 1999, which deals specifically with the recognition of trade unions by employers.

As a result, it is not possible for the Senedd to take the action called for by your petition.

Further information about the legislative powers of the Senedd can be found here:
https://senedd.wales/en/abthome/role-of-assembly-how-it-works/Pages/Powers.aspx

You may wish to consider petitioning the UK Parliament regarding this matter instead: https://petition.parliament.uk/

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards

Rejected petitions are published in the language in which they were submitted

Date submitted 17 November 2020
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