The recognition agreement follows a referendum of the site's 350 employees held in December, which showed that a majority of the employees wished to be represented by Unite the Union.

A draft agreement, which was approved by the Prinovis supervisory board was signed by the two parties on 27 March.

The deal will cover working issues such as hours of work, pay and holiday for which Unite will be the negotiating body.

Unite national officer Vernon Robson told printweek.com: “We are absolutely delighted with the deal and it shows the workforce recognises what we can deliver to them as a union.”

He added:"We are pleased the company accepted the decision and welcomed the co-operation by management in speedily reaching an agreement which we are sure will benefit the company and its employees."

Prinovis Liverpool managing director Richard Gray said he looked forward to a positive and productive relationship with Unite.

Prinovis Liverpool operates from a 65,000sqm facility on 200,000sqm of land. It employs 420 members of staff and runs four KBA rotogravure presses.