Industrial Relations at the Place of Work

Abstract

It was suggested in Chapter 3 that two main features of Whitleyism were highly centralised bargaining supplemented by joint consultation at the place of work. A consequence of the adoption of the Whitley system in the NHS is that the existence of consultative machinery at the place of work is virtually universal. In practice this means that there is provision for regular meetings between management and recognised unions at what are generally referred to as ‘joint consultative committees’ (JCCs). Inevitably the structure of such committees, the content of their activity, the degree of participation of recognised unions and the regularity of meetings will vary. Nevertheless there are basic principles which seem to apply quite generally. Meetings tend to be arranged quarterly. Staff-side unions arrange pre-meetings to establish common policies in respect of agenda items. Participants regard the committees as performing functions which are of importance.