U.S. union asks UK embassy to bargain after ILO ruling

[Omaha Steve]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKN2643315520070426

U.S. union asks UK embassy to bargain after ILO ruling
Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:40PM BST

By Peter Szekely

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. union on Thursday sought to bargain with the management of the British embassy in Washington on behalf of its staff after a U.N. body urged the British government to negotiate.

In a letter to British Ambassador David Manning, union President Gregory Junemann cited a nonbinding decision of the International Labour Organisation, or ILO, this month.

"Now that the (ILO) Committee has issued its decision, we expect the employer to abide by its labour obligations," said Junemann, who heads the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, or IFPTE.

Junemann also invited Manning to discuss ground rules and timetables for negotiating a collective bargaining agreement to cover 630 mostly British employees at the embassy in Washington and consulates in New York and elsewhere.

Embassy spokesman P.J. Johnston said the government was still studying the ILO's ruling on the union's complaint and the ambassador had yet to receive the union's letter.

FULL story at link.