Unite says it is taking a housing charity to arbitration after it refused to recognise the union in pay negotiations.
The union said the Leeds-based housing support charity Gipsil had said it would recognise union members but would not sign an agreement that allows collective bargaining over pay.
The union said it would take the dispute to the government’s Central Arbitration Committee, which oversees the regulation of UK labour law.
Gipsil said the majority of its workforce did not show support for union recognition and said it was disappointed with the language being used by the union.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: “Gipsil’s suggested recognition agreement with Unite is completely unacceptable.
“In its current form, the agreement would not be worth the paper it is written on.
“Unite will not stand for attempts to undermine our members’ collective bargaining rights and the pretence of an agreement Gipsil wants to sign will not stand.”
A spokesperson for Gipsil, which is registered as an industrial and provident society, said the organisation received a formal request last year for union recognition from a small group of its workforce.
“The majority of our workforce did not show support for union recognition,” the spokesperson said.
“Gipsil, supported by the board, commenced negotiations with Unite and staff representatives with the aim of negotiating a voluntary recognition agreement.
“Over the past few months there have been several meetings but, unfortunately, an agreement couldn’t be reached on key matters for negotiation and consultation.
“Unite and those members of our workforce they represent will be pursuing their right to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee for statutory recognition.”
The spokesperson said the tone and language used in Unite’s latest statement was “very different to what we had understood was an agreed message to share with our staff” and “not reflective of the collaborative and respectful relationship we thought we had established throughout our negotiations”.
The spokesperson said: “However, we acknowledge Unite’s perspective and remain committed to working with it and our workforce while continuing to explore options with the board.”