THE NEXT STEP IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
| Date | 01 June 1968 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.1968.tb00011.x |
| Author | Andrew W. J. Thomson |
| Published date | 01 June 1968 |
THE NEXT STEP
IN
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
ANDREW
W.
J.
THOMSON
WITH
the publication of the White Paper
‘In
Place of Strife” the
shadowy outline of the British industrial relations system
in
the 1970’s
has now emerged. The White Paper, together with the Conservative
document
‘
Fair Deal at Work
’’
and the Report of Lord Donovan’s
Royal Commission
on
Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations3
supplies a range of proposals to cover the likely parameters of future
legislative action. although more extreme suggestions are also not
wanting.
The White Paper marks an historic move for any government,
but especially for the Labour Party, away from the principles of
voluntarism and towards a system of legal controls.
It
leans over
backwards to placate the unions, but there is
no
disguising its basic
trend towards greater legal control over the system. To this extent
‘
In
Place of Strife
’
seems to have borrowed more from
‘
Fair Deal
at Work
’
than from the Donovan Report. The Conservatives, in fact,
have reason to be grateful to Labour for grappling with the problem
of legal control, since it will diminish any political risk which might
have attended a Conservative attempt to provide
a
stronger legal
framework.
Both political documents, like Donovan, agree that change is
necessary, and there
is
even considerable unanimity about the system
that should emerge. It should recognise the importance of the plant
and
the company as the basic units in collective bargaining. Contracts
would lay down not only far more detailed substantive provisions, but
a
clear statement
of
the rights
and
responsibilities
of
the
parties
and
especially
a
speedy and effective grievance procedure. The present
competitive multiplicity of unions in many sectors
of
the economy
would be rationalised to provide, at a minimum,
‘
one union for one
grade of work within one factory
’.4
Union structure would also include
the shop steward in the chain of command. The individual would
have new rights against arbitrary action, whether by employer or
union. Unions would have explicit rights
of
recognition. The state
Cmnd 3888, January 1%9.
Cmnd 3623, June 1968.
Cmnd
3.888,
Para. 69.
2
Published
by
the Conservative
Political
Centre,
April
1968.
212
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