In any agreement every sentence should define something, impose some duty or obligation, prohibit some action, or qualify one of these. Agreements that don't are monuments to the failure of those negotiations (or consultations). And, also problematically, they deceive the unwitting or inattentive into thinking that there's a useful understanding.
Common pitfalls:
- Unimplemented 'statements of purpose' are useless.
- Agreeing to agree in the future is a waste of ink and paper. (You either have an agreement or you don't.)
- "May" is not a synonym for "shall."
- The phrase, "best endeavours" (or an equivalent) doesn't suggest a meaningful undertaking.
- Agreeing on fuzzy modifiers, such as, "significant," "substantial," or "major" is likely to be the the last agreement you have about them.
- Commitments without time-frames aren't.
Lists are good, but if they're not exhaustive, that should be clear. Similarly, if they're ordered, that too should be clear.
Until everything is agreed, nothing is agreed — and I strongly suggest that your union sees it as early as possible. And, as with anything else that's written, there must be an opportunity to reflect before it's done.
Good luck.
It's not what we eat but what we digest
that makes us strong;
not what we gain but what we save
that makes us rich;
not what we read but what we remember
that makes us learned;
and not what we profess but what we practice
that gives us integrity.
—Francis Bacon, Sr (1561-1626)
