Whitley Council

Also known as Joint Industrial Council (JIC)/National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) is a council of employers and trade unions established in the initially in United Kingdom. It works as a connecting channel between employers and worker groups for consultation between to foster better and friendly industrial relations. It was brainchild of John Whitley. During World War I, in 1917, John Henry Whitley chaired a committee which produced a report on the ‘Relations of Employers and Employees’ identifying good industrial relations as a vital need for industrial relations. Whitely proposed a system of regular formal consultative meetings between workers and employers to address industrial unrest which evolved as wage negotiating bodies over the time. Councils were established from 1919. They typically worked to determine wage rates, terms and conditions in a specific industry. There were several of these, one for each industry and most of them were established between the 1920s and the 1940s. These are empowered to cover issues of pay and conditions of service and works as a forum between employers and employees.