Negotiation skills for effective collective bargaining
Image © Alice Lotti
Negotiation skills for effective collective bargaining
25–29 Maio 2026
O curso está disponível em English
Apresentação do curso
Collective bargaining plays a vital role in building productive, equitable, and stable employment relations. However, the success of collective bargaining often depends on the negotiation skills of those involved. Poor negotiation approaches can lead to conflict and undermine trust between parties. This course is designed to strengthen participants' negotiation skills, providing practical techniques and strategies to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes and foster constructive labour relations.
Perfil dos participantes
This course is ideal for employers' and workers' representatives, industrial relations experts, HR professionals, and practitioners involved in collective bargaining processes. It is also suitable for professionals seeking to enhance their negotiation skills, build consensus, and improve dispute resolution outcomes in the workplace.
Key Features
Learn differently
Innovative training methodologies combining theory, case studies, and live negotiation simulations
Join a global community
Exchange with negotiators and labour relations practitioners from across the world
Certificate of Participation
Successful participants will be awarded an ITCILO Certificate of Participation
Course Topics
The programme covers negotiation theory, practical techniques, and real-world applications, organized into four main areas:
1. Understanding Conflict Dynamics
- Identifying typical mistakes made by negotiators
- How conflict develops into disputes
- Different approaches to dispute resolution
2. Negotiation Approaches and Techniques
- Outcomes in negotiation
- Positional vs. needs-based negotiation
- The problem-solving model and stages of needs-based negotiation
- Managing the negotiators’ dilemma
- Maximizing joint value and optimum outcomes
3. Preparation and Strategy for Negotiators
- Understanding alternatives to negotiated agreements (BATNA)
- Reality testing and opening a zone of possible agreement
- Mandating dynamics and preparation techniques
4. Practical Negotiation Skills
- Working with interests and needs
- Reframing and extracting needs
- Finding mutual gains outcomes
- Generating options and brainstorming
- Negotiating with difficult people and managing emotions
- Helping participants save face during negotiations
What Our Expert Says
The course is delivered by experts in negotiation, conciliation, and mediation, combining theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Participants benefit from insights and advice from trainers experienced in labour relations and conflict management at national and international levels.
Never too old or too young to learn more about negotiation!
This programme provides a unique opportunity for negotiators from across the world – to share their real-life experiences, challenges, and successes, and to learn with and from each other. It weaves together fundamental negotiation concepts and principles, strategies for meeting the realities of ‘negotiation on the ground’, and reflection on participants’ own practice in negotiations, in a vibrant, fun, and participative way.
Sharon Wakeford
Internationally accredited mediator, facilitator, coach and trainer, South Africa
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the dynamics of conflict and approaches to dispute resolution
- Apply needs-based negotiation techniques to move beyond adversarial approaches
- Develop consensus-building strategies for lasting agreements
- Maximize joint gains and strengthen constructive labour relations
- Prepare negotiations effectively, considering alternatives, interests, and stakeholder needs
These objectives ensure participants can apply new skills immediately in their professional contexts.
Why Join This Course?
- Learn by doing — Live negotiation simulations, role-plays, and group exercises that mirror real-world collective bargaining situations.
- Expert facilitators — Internationally experienced negotiators and mediators who combine deep theoretical knowledge with practical field experience.
- A diverse global community — Engage with participants from social dialogue and labour relations contexts worldwide, sharing challenges and good practices.
- Immediately applicable skills — Techniques and frameworks you can apply directly to your negotiations as soon as you return to your workplace.
Methodology
This course combines a pre-course online phase and a face-to-face residential week at the ITCILO campus in Turin.
Before arriving in Turin, participants complete 3 self-paced learning modules on the ITCILO eCampus platform. These modules introduce the core theoretical frameworks — conflict dynamics, negotiation approaches, and preparation techniques — so that the residential week can focus entirely on practice and application. Completing the pre-course phase is expected before the start of the residential week.
The five-day residential programme at the ITCILO campus in Turin is built around practical learning. It combines expert presentations, comparative case studies, group work, plenary discussions, and — above all — live negotiation simulations in which participants practise the skills developed during the pre-course phase. Facilitators provide real-time feedback, and the diverse international mix of participants enriches every exercise.
Language
The course is conducted in English. Participants are expected to have a good command of the language.
Registration and Practical Information
How to apply
Click Apply Now and complete the online application form before the deadline. If sponsored by your institution, attach a sponsorship letter covering the course fee. Applications are reviewed through a standardised selection process and successful candidates are notified individually. Questions? Contact socdial@itcilo.org — Course code: A9018872.
Course fee
The course fee (€1,840 tuition + €755 subsistence = €2,595 total) includes full board accommodation at the ITCILO campus in Turin, routine medical care, medical insurance, and internet access. Travel costs, passport and visa fees, and airport taxes are not included.
Payment and cancellation
Participants must notify the Centre in writing at least 14 days before the course start date if they wish to withdraw. Cancellation penalties apply — see the full payment and cancellation policy.
Your Questions, Answered
Do I need to be an experienced negotiator to join this course?
No. The course is designed for both practitioners who are new to formal negotiation processes and experienced negotiators looking to update and strengthen their skills. The mix of participants from different backgrounds and regions is itself one of the most valuable learning elements of the programme.
Is this course relevant for both employers' and workers' representatives?
Yes, and deliberately so. The course brings together both sides of the bargaining table, which enriches the learning experience and helps participants understand the perspectives, pressures, and strategies of their counterparts — a key factor in reaching durable agreements.
Can the skills from this course be applied in mediation or conciliation settings as well?
Absolutely. Negotiation skills are foundational to all dispute resolution methods. Participants wishing to deepen their skills in conciliation and mediation after this course are encouraged to explore the ITCILO Conciliation/Mediation Learning Path.
Which accommodation nights are included in the course fee?
Yes, the course fee covers accommodation for the night before the course begins and the night the course ends.
If you require additional nights, these must be requested in advance in writing through the Activity Assistant and paid directly at the campus reception.
- Single room: 77 EUR per night
- Double room: 64 EUR per person, per night
How can I travel from the airport to the campus?
- From Milan Malpensa Airport, you can reach the campus using public bus services.
- From Turin Caselle Airport, you may take a taxi (approximately 60 EUR for a one-way trip) or arrange a transfer through the ITCILO Transfer Office at transfer@itcilo.org.
- Transfer cost: 60 EUR (one participant)
- 30 EUR per person (for more than one participant)
Start learning about this topic
Strengthen your foundations with the Industrial Relations Toolkit — a free, self-paced resource covering collective bargaining principles, workplace cooperation, and grievance handling. This course is part of the ITCILO Social Dialogue curriculum, which also includes pathways into conciliation and mediation of labour disputes for those wishing to extend their dispute resolution skills beyond the negotiating table.
Browse the full catalogue of ITCILO Social Dialogue courses.
