Final Offer Arbitration in Great Britain: Style and Impact

Abstract

Within the last decade a number of British workplaces have signed agreements incorporating final-offer arbitration (FOA), a well known procedure in the US but unusual in British industrial relations. This is the first thorough study of recent British experience. Data are drawn from a postal survey of 72 plants, yielding information on nearly 300 wage bargaining rounds, and from interviews with eight managers at FOA plants which had disputes under the procedure. A full picture of the style and impact of FOA procedures in British workplaces is documented.