British Trade Unionism 1979-89: Change, Continuity and Contradictions

Abstract

The paper begins by briefly documenting many of the changes that have occurred in the 1980s in union membership, occupational structure, strikes, etc. and sets out to compare two interpretations: (i) that these represent a secular transformation towards a new industrial relations, (ii) that they constitute a largely cyclical phenomenon. Whilst there are clearly elements of both modes of change, it is argued that in terms of core elements of industrial relations - the power, interests and relations between the parties - the cyclical hypothesis is much nearer the truth. The paper uses Batstone's (1988) model of power resources to analyse the impact of changes and trends in labour markets, product markets, employer and union strategies, production systems and worker attitudes. In some cases, e.g. worker attitudes, there has been little basic change; in others, e.g. production systems, the effects have been variable; in others again, e.g. state and employer strategies, the effects have sometimes been the opposite of those intended. The paper ends by looking at several explanations for these results.