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.
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