Rhetorical discourse of local pay

This article explores the rhetorical dimensions of discourse through an analysis of the 'talk' of management and trade union negotiators involved in local pay bargaining. Having rejected the contemporary negative views of 'rhetoric', the analysis is conducted through utilizing a rhetorical framework emanating from Antiquity. In particular, the focus is on two of the five canons of classical rhetoric, inventio (which addresses the technical arguments employed by the speaker) and elocutio (which is concerned with the stylistic aspects of the speakers' 'talk').