Negotiating and bargaining | What we do | UNISON National

Negotiation and bargaining is the process of talking to employers and making agreements with employers when workers are unhappy with pay or working ... Skiptocontent UNISONNational JoinUNISON Gethelp Memberbenefits Regions Cymru/Wales EastMidlands Eastern GreaterLondon NorthWest Northern NorthernIreland Scotland SouthEast SouthWest WestMidlands YorkshireandHumberside MyUNISON BranchFinder Quickcontactdetailsupdate Othersites BritishSignLanguage SkillsforSchools Digital StarsInOurSchools MoreUNISON Searchfor: thepublicserviceunion Gethelpnow Calluson  08000857857 Oremailus Followus Menu Negotiatingandbargaining MostUNISONbranchofficers,stewardsandsafetyrepswillnegotiatewithemployersatsometime.ItishowtoprotectandpromotetheinterestsofUNISONmembersandcreatefairnessandequalityatwork. Thispage,alongwithourin-depthbargainingguidesandtrainingcourses,givesyouthetoolsyouneedforeffectivenegotiatingandbargainingwithemployers. Whatiscollectivebargaining? Collectivebargainingistheprocessofnegotiationduringmeetingsbetweenrepsandtheiremployer,oftentoimprovepayandconditions.Thecollectivebargainingprocessallowsworkerstoapproachemployersasaunifiedgroup. Theaimofcollectivebargainingistoreachanagreementbetweenemployersandworkers.Memberscancontributetodiscussionsbytalkingtotheirrepswhilenegotiationstakeplace. Workplacebargainingandnegotiatingisalsoagoldenopportunitytobuildastronglocalunion.Claimsandagreementsareagreatwayofrecruitingnewmembersandgettingmoremembersinvolvedintheunion. WhatdoesUNISONbargainabout? AgroupofUNISONrepsmayformacollectivebargaininggrouptoreachanagreementforbetterpayorchangestopensions,forexample.Thismayhappenateitheralocalornationallevel. Theymayalsonegotiateovernonpay-relatedissues,suchasworkinghours,plannedredundanciesortherighttoflexibleworkingforcarersandparents. Atthemoment,thereisnolegalrequirementforemployersto complywith requestsforflexibleworking,sobargainingmaybeausefulwaytoencourageanemployerto implement flexibleworkingarrangements. Recognitionagreements Forrepstocarryoutcollectivebargainingonpayandworkingconditions,unionsneedtobe‘recognised’bytheemployerasspeakingonbehalfofourmembers.Thisisusuallyachievedthrougharecognitionagreementwhichsetsouttheproceduresfornegotiationsbetweenmanagementandtheunions,andthefacilities(suchastimeoff)availabletotheunions. Trainingandsupport Negotiatingisnotalwaysaskillthatcomesnaturally,whichiswhyUNISONprovidesregulartrainingcourses,throughtheregions,tohelpsupportrepsandimprovetheirskillsinthisvitalwork. Manybrancheshavenegotiatingteamsmadeupofbranchofficersandstewardssoyouwillnotnormallybeaskedtoconductanegotiationalone. LearningandtrainingforUNISONreps Thestagesofnegotiation Theaimofnegotiationistoreachanagreement.Negotiationshouldnotbeconfusedwith‘consultation’,whichissimplyanexchangeofopinionsbetweenworkersandtheiremployer.However,skilfulnegotiatorscanturnconsultationintonegotiation. Stewardsdonotnormallynegotiatealone,butaspartofateamwithcomplementaryskills. Tostartthenegotiationprocess,aUNISONreporofficialmaywritetotheemployertoraiseaclaim.Theythenmeetmanagementtopresentthecase. Aseriesofmeetingsmayfollowtodiscusstheissueindepth.Ifyouattendoneofthesemeetings,itisasimportanttolistencarefullyandaskquestionsasitistopresentyourcasewell.Clear,effectivecommunicationduringnegotiationisimportantasitcanhelpotherstounderstandyourpointofview. Thenegotiationprocesstendstofollowastandardpattern,whichfallsintofourrecognisedstages. Preparation:Youneedtodocarefulpreparationandresearch,especiallyincanvassingtheviewsofyourmembers. Theopening:Onesidetablesaproposalandtheothersideresponds.Thisstagecaninvolveadjournmentstocollectfurtherinformationandtestoutarguments.Italsoincludesidentifyingtherelativeimportanceofissues,fall-backpositionsand‘bottomlines’. Trading: Bothsidestradethingsinordertomovefromfixedopeningpositionstoanagreement:“We’llofferxifyou’llagreetoy.”Again,therecanbelotsofadjournmentstoexploreoptions,testarguments,consult,etc.Thisstagebuildsconsensusandnarrowsdowntheareasofdisagreement. Agreement: Thisshouldincludeaphasewherethefinalproposalisputtothemembersandendswiththeagreementbeingdocumentedforfuturereference. Toreachanagreement,bothsidesmustbeopentonewideasandwillingtoacceptchanges.Ifnoagreementismade,negotiationscanbreakdownandunionsmayresorttoindustrialaction.Ifindustrialactionisrequired,UNISONregionalofficesgetinvolvedandprovideadviceonthecorrectprocedurestofollow. Onceworkersandemployershavereachedanagreement,itissignedandkeptinplaceeitherforasettimeoruntilreplaced. Yourrole Asastewardyoushould: makesurethatmembers’viewsandconcernsarefedintothebargainingprocess; keepmembersinformedofdevelopments; canvasmembers’viewsandmakesuretheyarefedbackintothenegotiationprocess; encouragememberstotakepartinballots,surveys,etc; keepmembersinformedoftheoutcomeofanynegotiations.   Share Facebook Twitter Email Moreoptions Print/Translate Printpage Translatepage Jointoday JoinUNISONandgetessentialcoverwhereveryouwork. Joinonlinenow UNISONin numbers UNISONhasmorethan1.3millionmembersandactivists,makingusoneofEurope’slargestunions Morethan70%ofourmembersarewomen. UNISONisspreadover12UKregions. Therearemorethan1,000UNISONbranchesaroundtheUK Followus UNISON,UNISONCentre,130EustonRoad,LondonNW12AY.08000857857 ©Copyright2022Privacypolicy Termsandconditions ×Hidemessage Weusecookiesonourwebsitetoensureyoufindtheinformationyouneedinthesimplestway.Bycontinuingtouseourwebsiteyouareconsentingtotheiruse.Findoutmoreaboutcookiesandhowweusethem.