Industrial Relations in the UK: Change in the 1980's: An ESRC Research Briefing

Abstract

Industrial relations have attracted massive attention during the 1980s. Major pieces of legislation have changed the law on the conduct of disputes, the use of the closed shop, and the internal operation of trade unions. Employers have been making efforts to change working practices, and hardly a day goes by without the advocacy of some new policy, be it quality circles, profit‐related pay, or use of multi skilled craft workers. In addition to reacting to legal and employer‐led changes, trade unions have had to respond to declining membership and to conduct internal debates on such novel topics as single‐ union and no‐strike deals.

Citation

Edwards, P.K. and Sisson, K. (1989), "Industrial Relations in the UK: Change in the 1980's: An ESRC Research Briefing", Management Research News, Vol. 12 No. 8, pp. 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028060