Do new-style agreements always foster conflict-free labor relations? This paper provides an account of what happened at two Japanese manufacturing transplants in the UK where such agreements were in operation. It highlights a discrepancy between the intended cooperative industrial relations and the actual low-trust, adversarial environment. At these companies, management operated industrial relations in a manner inconsistent with the “spirit and intention” of the agreements. This low-trust approach contributed to employee dissatisfaction with both the management and the union’s performance. This created a situation that was less that harmonious. An implication of the study is that new-style agreements offer little comfort to trade unions as they attempt to arrest a seemingly continuous decline in their fortunes. Instead of creating trust, the opposite may be occuring.
This paper is published in Employee Relations. The findings have implications for trade unions and management practices, suggesting a need for greater attention to employee relations and trust-building in international business contexts. Therefore, this information is highly valuable.