COMPANY managers will be accused of paying "lip service" to the idea of working in partnership with their staff in a new survey to be published in the New Year.

Research among more than 2,000 senior workplace union representatives has shown widespread opposition to the idea of involving workers in the running of a business.

The Manufacturing Science and Finance (MSF)union said its survey showed that the idea of genuine partnership between the two sides of industry was still "very much in its infancy".

General secretary Roger Lyons said: "Other than a few genuine examples of mutually-agreed partnership, most managers still seem to take an adversarial approach."

Mr Lyons added: "Senior managers seem to be in favour of partnership, but the message is not reaching managers on the front line."

Nine out of ten of those surveyed said the intensity of work had increased dramatically in the past year, while most reported a rise in the number of temporary and part-time contracts.

Job security was said to have "significantly reduced", while staff involvement in business decisions was described as "negligible".

An MSF representative from the civil aviation industry said: "Local managers can interpret partnership as a quick fix for getting decisions made and use partnership only when it suits them."

The union said that in recent years it had struck a few "outstanding" partnership deals with firms including the likes of Legal & General and AXA, but that these were the exception.

Mr Lyons said: "What we need is a cultural revolution in Britain.

"The Government must get itself involved in changing attitudes among the majority of employers in this country.