ABSTRACT
Discussions between the Company and the unions resulted in an agreement for trials in a number of sites. The sites chosen for the trials were designated centrally. The document to which Company and unions were signatories set out the aims of the exercise, including changes in manning aimed at greater flexibility and changes in employment conditions and salary structure. It can be seen that the actual process of negotiations was itself part of a change in industrial relations. What then, briefly, were the changes which resulted from the negotiations? The changes were of three main kinds: firstly, changes in the structure of industrial relations; secondly, organizational changes, or changes in the socio-technical system; and thirdly, changes in payment. Stability of salary was to be guaranteed under stated conditions. The agreement also included supplementary payments for shift and day rotas, overtime, and working conditions.
