The Recession and Industrial Relations:. A Factory Approach
| Published date | 01 May 1983 |
| Pages | 5-12 |
| Date | 01 May 1983 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb055019 |
| Author | M.G. Chadwick |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
The Recession and
Industrial Relations:
A Factory Approach
by M.G. Chadwick
Lecturer in Industrial Relations,
Derbyshire College of Higher Education
Introduction—The Nature of the Problem
With the current record levels of unemployment comes
growing speculation that an era of industrial relations may
be coming to an end. Patterns and trends which have been
responsible for shaping the unique "style" of British in-
dustrial relations are now under pressure from the recent
changes in both the political and economic environment.
The period from the end of World War II to the mid 1970s
marked 30 years of high employment and sustained
economic growth, creating a climate which encouraged
the rise and development of the shop steward and of work-
place collective bargaining and which created a challenge
to many areas of decision making that had hitherto been
strictly regarded as the prerogative of the employer. In ad-
dition,
the last decade had witnessed one of the major in-
creases in trade union growth, a growth which took total
trade union membership, in 1979, over the twelve million
mark or 55 per cent of the working population.
However, the tide has now turned, and trade unions are
suffering heavy losses in their membership, with the reces-
sion being directly responsible for the loss of over one
million trade union members and in particular in the bas-
tion of trade unionism
—
the manufacturing sector. What
effects have these changes and the sustained level of high
unemployment had on the pattern of industrial relations in
Great Britain?
This article will seek to contribute to this topic by an en-
quiry into recent developments taking place in industrial
relations at ten manufacturing companies in a typical
Midland town.
The companies under review were drawn from the foundry
and engineering industries printing and packaging, food
manufacture, kitchenware and the production of civil and
domestic concrete products. The sample was chosen on
the basis that it represented a broad cross section of the
local manufacturing industries, which included both large-
and small-scale production, high and low technology
operations, one-off and mass produced products, and ex-
amples of both traditionally strong and weakly organised
labour forces. At each company, representatives of senior
management, shop stewards and several employees were
interviewed on an individual and informal basis. In
addi-
tion,
a number of full-time trade union officers as well as
local officials of ACAS also took part in the survey. Sur-
prisingly, there were very few occasions when the
dif-
ferent sources of information were in unresolvable
con-
flict
—
an indication in itself of the recent development in
industrial relations.
In this article, I begin by outlining the changes taking place
in the most fundamental area of British industrial relations,
that of collective bargaining. Representatives of labour
who have in the past eroded much of the area of unilateral
management decision making by extending the scope and
depth of collective bargaining are now facing renewed
resistance in the form of clear management policies. The
methods by which management seek to regain "lost
ground",
the problems they face and the reaction of the
trade union and the labour force are then discussed. Final-
ly, the significance of the changes taking place is
con-
sidered.
Does this herald the birth of a new realism in
British industrial relations or is it only a temporary reflec-
tion of a changing power relationship?
Management and the Rekindling of Style
The particular approach or "style" adopted by manage-
ment to employee relations is perhaps the most important
element in framing the boundaries and dictating the nature
of industrial relations. However, because of a general
weakness in much of the management found in the
manufacturing sector, and the growing ability of work-
place employee organisations to influence and extend the
areas of job control, an outstanding feature of British in-
dustrial relations over the last 40 years has been the
absence of any effective managerial strategy. In practice,
What methods did
management use in order
to regain "lost ground",
and what style was used
by them?
ER 5,5 1983 5
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