Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Preview Page

Despite some reluctance on the part of management to submit to arbitration questions concerning the administration and application of wage incentive plans (a reluctance which also exists in the case of job evaluation plans), the number of wage incentive cases has risen consistently and markedly. Indeed, in response to the insistent necessity for settling such issues, a number of labor agreements which previously exempted them from final and binding arbitration have been revised to include them. In some cases the labor agreement provides special safeguards regarding the manner in which wage incentive cases may be referred to arbitration and the qualifications of the arbitrator. In other instances, despite the technical coloration of wage incentive cases, they are handled no differently from other grievance matters.

Although the specific provisions found in labor agreements which relate to wage incentives and their arbitration vary widely, their central focus is virtually always on the "standard."