The Safety Representative Function: Consultation or Negotiation? Available to Purchase

In Britain there has long been a general distinction drawnbetween subjects which are considered suitable for joint consultation and those which are considered suitable for negotiation. The former are those where the basic aims of union(s) and management are held to be essentially similar, while the latter are those where there is held to be a fundamental divergence of interests between the two parties. The problem‐solving orientation of joint consultative arrangements, with the possibility of joint gains to union and management (i.e. a varying sum pay off matrix) has been labelled “integrative” bargaining by Walton and McKersie, while the issue orientation of the negotiation process has been labelled “distributive” bargaining.