Under New Labour the political and industrial climate has changed. Stoppages are at an all time low - the table shows what causes the few there are. Next summer there is the prospect of a legally enforceable right to union recognition under the employment relations act. No wonder then that partnership agreements with trade unions have taken on a new allure for employers. The TUC expects more, adding thousands to the TUC's already growing membership.
Partnership can be a very elastic term indeed.
Most union leaders hanker after the arrangement now under attack in Germany, complete with legally-underpinned structures of participation at company, industrial and national level. CBI president Sir Clive Thompson of Rentokil is all in favour of partnership but thinks it best achieved without any union involvement at all. Most deals involve trading flexibility and a commitment to avoid industrial action with a measure of job security and scope for union recruitment. Genuine partnerships, according to the TUC, should include a joint commitment to the success of the organisation, recognition of the two sides' differing roles and interests, some guarantee of job security, a focus on the quality of working life, openness and clear gains for all. But it is not only employers who have other ideas.