Negotiation Skills Training—Part 1

In recent years, a number of developments have combined to make industrial relations a high priority for management and Government. Trade unions have always seen industrial relations as a high priority, yet they too are affected by the developments as is shown by the increasing number of active unionists. This increased activity can be seen as a response to the need for the management of organisations to cope with change and to become increasingly collaborative and consultative. “Full employment”, inflation, the development of post‐industrial society, increasing white‐collar and managerial unionism and the higher expectations of an ever‐more skilled, educated and flexible population are some of the pressures underlying this movement.