The Changing Role of Trade Unions in the Management of Labour
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1986.tb00678.x |
| Published date | 01 July 1986 |
| Author | William Brown |
| Date | 01 July 1986 |
British Journal
of
Industrial Relutions
24:2
July
1986
0007-1080
$3.00
The Changing
Role
of
Trade Unions
in
the
Management
of
Labour
William
Brown
*
The
1980s
have seen a substantial change in the conduct
of
collective
bargaining in Britain. The recession has played an important part in this.
But while the effect of high unemployment upon employee power and
aspirations has been undeniable, probably more important, and more
enduring, has been the shock of recession upon employers, forcing them
to redouble efforts
to
improve labour productivity. A crisis of interna-
tional competitiveness in the private sector, and of finance in the public,
has forced major reappraisals
of
the way in which labour is contracted and
motivated. The cumulative effect of many innovations is that collective
bargaining
is
taking new forms and that trade unions, especially in the
private sector, are being forced to adopt new structures.
This note seeks to stimulate discussion
of
the changing role
of
trade unions
by focusing on the effect of changing employment practices. It starts with
these and with the implications for the motivation and control
of
employ-
ees. The experience of private and public sectors is then contrasted. The
brevity of the note provokes some unduly crude generalisations.
EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
During the
1980s
employment practices have altered at a rate that is probably
unprecedented. This applies particularly to the form
of
the employment
contract. Part-time employment has risen from covering
15
per cent
of
all
jobs in
1971,
and
20
per cent in
1978,
to
25
per cent of the working
population in
1985.
It is typically characterised by unstandardised shift
patterns that often vary from month
to
month. Self-employment, which
varied little in aggregate during the
1970s,
has also risen, from
7.4
per cent
of the working population in
1978
to
10.8
per cent in
1985.
Homeworking
and temporary employment have also increased substantially. Tradi-
tional full-time employment is in rapid retreat.
These developments are partly a consequence
of
a renewed tendency to
contract out tasks that were hitherto done ‘in house’. The growth of sub-
contract service firms is a reflection
of
this. It must also be a major factor in
*
Professor
of
Industrial Relations, University
of
Cambridge.
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