The Community trade union has achieved recognition with XPO Logistics at the giant ASOS distribution centre in Barnsley and one other site managed by the 3PL firm.

Recently the GMB union has been running a high profile recruitment campaign at the Barnsley site for several months, though a spokesman for Community has said that prior to the agreement there was no recognised trades union at the ASOS site.

In September ASOS and XPO came in for media criticism over allegations relating to treatment of staff at the Barnsley warehouse. In response, both companies issued statements that strongly rejected the allegations that included a six-page rebuttal by the online fashion retailer.

The other location given union recognition is a multi-user site in Northamptonshire. The Community union has said it already had members in XPO Logistics.

Sean Scorer, Community’s national officer for logistics, said: “Community wants to see companies like XPO grow and succeed, but we also want workers to share in that success. This agreement is a positive step in that direction and we look forward to working closely with our members and the company in the coming weeks.”

With only 30,000 members Community is a relatively small union by comparison to the 630,000 strong GMB. Community has seen the logistics sector as one ripe for expansion and it also represents depot workers as well as drivers at the delivery company Whistl.
 
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