Where "Ambit Claim" Comes From
The term comes from Australian industrial relations, where unions and employers open wage negotiations with deliberately inflated demands to anchor the bargaining position in their favour.
It's been formally recognised and discussed by bodies like the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and its predecessor, the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, for decades.
The union's ambit claim asked for a 25% pay rise, knowing they'd settle for far less.
How Aussies Actually Use It
Used across union bargaining and wage negotiations, and now loosely for any opening offer nobody expects to be accepted as-is.
Understood as a legitimate opening tactic, distinct from bad-faith bargaining — though claims judged too extreme can be seen as not genuinely trying to reach agreement.
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