Industrial conflict in local government since 1997
| Pages | 377-391 |
| Published date | 01 August 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450410544489 |
| Date | 01 August 2004 |
| Author | Charles Nolda |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Industrial conflict in local
government since 1997
Charles Nolda
Employers’ Organisation for Local Government, London, UK
Keywords Industrial relations, Disputes, Local government, Fire services, United Kingdom
Abstract Argues that although 2002 was undoubtedly the most challenging year for a long
time for local government employers it does not herald a return to the climate of the 1970s
and the “Winter of Discontent”, as too many things have changed socially and economically
for this to occur. For example, Parliament changed the legal framework for industrial action
to the employers’ advantage, employers and governments learned how to win disputes,
inflation fell and has stabilised at low levels, employees have become tied to expensive
mortgage repayments, inherited concepts of job security no longer apply as a general rule,
and the pensions promise has been severely eroded in much of the private sector, for new
starters at least. Within this context describes the background and the outcomes of the local
government and fire disputes of 2002.
Introduction
As the senior employers’ negotiator in two major national disputes during 2002/3, I
might be expected to start from the point of view that recently we have been
witnessing a resurgence of industrial militancy and that Thatcher-slain dragons may
be on the verge of resurrection. That is not, however, how it has seemed to me, having
been involved in the national negotiating scene since the early 1970s.
The 1970s and early 1980s were marked by high inflation, explicit government pay
policies, and frequent strikes. This was a period when general secretaries had to run to
catch up with their members; when ministers were distracted from policy making by
the day-to-day demands of dispute resolution: and when civil servants took refuge in
statutory controls, sometimes to counter-productive effect.
This was heaven for industrial correspondents, a powerful breed, some of whom
went on to become political editors or government spokesmen. Since 1979 headlines
have frequently predicted the reappearance of various seasons of discontent. As with
the tea-break in the engineering industry, which was bought out several times in
abortive national productivity agreements, the “Winter of Discontent” has acquired
mythic status – its reappearance often said to be on the horizon or just round the
corner but never yet repeated.
It is worth briefly recalling from a local government perspective the industrial
relations roll-call of the mid- and late-1970s:
(1) 1974 – inquiry into teachers’ pay.
(2) 1977/1978 – nine-week fire service strike and establishment of upper quartile
pay formula.
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
The author, Employers’ Secretary for local government, education, fire service and police
negotiating bodies, 1991-2004, writes here in a personal capacity.
Industrial
conflict
377
Received February 2004
Revised February 2004
Accepted February 2004
Employee Relations
Vol. 26 No. 4, 2004
pp. 377-391
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450410544489
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