WHITHER LABOUR LAW NOW?
| Date | 01 November 1970 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1970.tb00579.x |
| Author | John Wood |
| Published date | 01 November 1970 |
WHITHER LABOUR LAW
NOW?
JOHN
WOOD*
THE
wait is nearly over. It began in April 1965 when the Royal Commis-
sion on Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations was set up. The
cynics felt at the time that this was the classic way for
a
Government to
delay needed but difficult action. Donovan1 was, of course, anticipated.
In April 1968 the Conservative Political Centre published the Conserva-
tive approach to modern industrial relations,
Fair
Deal
at
Work2
Donovan
itself appeared in June 1968. The Government’s policy for industrial
relations,
In
Plum
of
Strife3,
appeared in January 1969. Its reception is a
well told tale. The Government’s legislative proposals appeared as the
Industrial Relations Bill published in April 1970. The bill was lost by the
dissolution of Parliament; the policy was lost as a result
of
the election.
No
doubt the foregoing
is
familiar
to
every reader. It is the bare bones of
a
fascinating story4 which has had wide journalist coverage. It has to
be
borne in mind because it is the starting point of this article.
All
the con-
testants have already established positions taken up in vastly different
political conditions. These positions were all to be viewed against the
philosophy that permeated the Donovan report. A few sentences from the
chapter dealing with the law can be set out to illustrate it
:-
The British system
of
industrial
relations
is based on voluntarily agreed
rules
which,
as
a
matter
of
principle,
are
not
enforced by
law.
This
is
an
outstanding characteristic which distinguishes
it
from the
systems
of
many
comparable countries.
.
.
In
short,
it
has
been the
traditional
policy
of
the
law
as
far
as
possible
not
to
intervene
in the
system
of
industrial
relation^.^
It is a philosophy that has had strong support from
a
large number
of
academic writers. Foreign attitudes will not transplant we are told and
any attempt at change will destroy the great merit of the British system.
But the basic philosophy is not central to Conservative policy and changes
must be anticipated. The crucial problem is initiating acceptable and
workable change and it is with this problem that this article is largely
concerned.
*
Professor
of
Law,
University
of
ShefEeld
Cmnd 3623
Produced by Study Groups set up by the Conservative Party.
Cmnd
3888
Chapter
XIV,
paras. 751,
752
‘
See
for
example, Peter
Jenkins’
account,
‘l7u
Battle
of
Downing
Sheet,
Charles Knight
&
Co.
1970
305
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