published in: John T. Addison and Claus Schnabel (eds.), International Handbook of Trade Unions, Cheltenham and Northampton, 2003, 415-460
Perhaps no other country in recent years has witnessed greater change in its collective
bargaining framework than the UK. This paper describes the dramatic developments and
their consequences. Like Gaul, it is in three parts. The first part charts the six major pieces of
legislation – conventionally described as ‘anti-union’ – that were enacted by successive
Conservative administrations between 1980 and 1993, and links them to the subsequent
decline in unionism and to improvements in firm performance and that of the macro
economy. The second part examines the accession of ‘New Labour’ and reviews its domestic
reform agenda, today largely in place. That agenda comprises two general pieces of
employment and employment relations law plus a new national minimum wage. At first (and
second) blush these changes do not return Britain to the mid-1970s even if they do imply an
increase in union membership and rising costs for business. For evidence of more profound
change one has to turn to the third part of our story: the social policy agenda of the European
Union. Almost immediately upon taking office, New Labour signed up to the social chapter.
This means that a slew of new legislation seeking to regulate the employment relation
(mostly decided by qualified majority) is now in immediate prospect. Europe is therefore set
to impact the theory and practice of British industrial relations. We provide a brief review of
recent and prospective legislation.
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