Trade Unions and the State

Abstract

The discussion in previous chapters demonstrated that the outcome of labour-market transactions possesses profound ramifications for social development. Consequently all governments are compelled to establish an industrial-relations policy, if only implicitly. This book is not designed to provide a comprehensive account of trade-union law, but no study of the unions’ economic role would be complete without consideration of their relationship to the state. The traditional U.K. view has been that governments should not intervene in labour markets but should encourage employers and unions to participate in voluntary collective bargaining by providing laws which enable such a system to operate. Over the last decade a variety of developments combined to weaken this approach and produce a more active government role.