Changes in Working Practices in British Manufacturing Industry in the 1980s: A Study of Employee Concessions Made During Wage Negotiations
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1991.tb00224.x |
| Author | Peter N. Ingram |
| Date | 01 March 1991 |
| Published date | 01 March 1991 |
British
Journal
of
Industrial
Relations
29:l
March
1991
0007-1080
$3.00
Changes in Working Practices in
British Manufacturing Industry in the
1980s:
A
Study
of
Employee Concessions
Made During Wage Negotiations
Peter
N.
Ingram
*
Find version accepted
1
October
1990.
Abstract
The
1980s
witnessed
a
considerable increase in the rate of growth of
manufacturing productivity in Britain. This paper attempts to reveal the extent
of’
systematic change at the work-place which
was
associated with this
improvement. The study focuses on changes in working practices introduced
concurrently with negotiations over wage increases; in every year throughout
the decade around one third of wage settlements involving trade unions
included productivity enhancing change. It is argued that the discipline of
competitive pressure and the absence of incomes policy gave rise to the growth
in the incidence of wage negotiations which featured
a
productivity element.
1.
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the extent
of
changes in working
practices that have been linked to pay settlements during the
1980s.
In
so
far
as established working arrangements as well as rates
of
pay undergo change,
such
negotiations imply a trade-off between management and employees in
the wage-effort bargain. This paper could therefore be regarded as a study
of
thle use and scope
of
concessionary bargaining in British manufacturing in
the
1980s.
The vast majority
of
collective agreements in British wage determination
still run for
12
months. Fewer than
10
per cent
of
agreements are ‘longer-
term’ in the sense
of
lasting for more than a year. While the focus of such
agreements is usually the increase in employees’ pay, many more issues can
be involved in the negotiations. Trade union claims can extend into the area
*Lleci.urer in Economics, University
of
Surrey; formerly Senior Adviser on Pay and
Productivity at the
CBI
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