1st Edition

Unions and Employment in a Market Economy Strategy, Influence and Power in Contemporary Britain

By Andrew Brady Copyright 2019
    226 Pages
    by Routledge

    226 Pages
    by Routledge

    Due to the sharp declines in trade union density and collective bargaining coverage post-1979, the shift by trade unions towards political action has had significant implications for employment relations regulation in contemporary Britain. Yet, there remains insufficient discussion of the factors of influence affecting changes in the political action process from a historical and contemporary perspective. Unions and Employment in a Market Economy will evidence how trade unions were able to offset environmental constraints through a progressive focus on political action, despite diminished power in the Labour Party’s structures and the wider economy. The book presents four legislative events categorised as functional equivalents enacted in two different periods of Labour governance (1974-79 and 1997-2010). The selected events are the Social Contract (1974-79), National Minimum Wage (1998), Employment Relations Act (1999) and the Warwick Agreement (2004). The book’s findings lend credence to the proposition that in a liberal market economy there is a valuable dividend associated with trade union political exchange through the Labour Party.

    List of Tables



    List of Boxes



    Preface





    Chapter 1: Trade Union Strategy, Influence and Power in Contemporary Britain: An Introduction



    Introduction



    Varieties of Capitalism



    Deconstruction and Reconstruction



    New Labour: Continuation of neoliberalism or breaking with the past?



    Labour Party: A Channel for Trade Union Political Action



    Trade Union Leadership, Strategy and Structure



    Conclusion





    Chapter 2: The Social Contract (1974-79)



    Introduction



    Donovan Commission and In Place of Strife



    The Industrial Relations Act (1971)



    The Social Contract in Formation



    The Social Contract in Operation



    The Winter of Discontent 1978/9



    Evaluation and Reflections





    Chapter 3: Employment Relations Reform under New Labour: Context, Continuity and Change



    Introduction



    Conservative Liberal Market Reform



    Political Action: New Mechanisms



    Ideological Disunity, Space and Convergence: Opposition Years



    Progressive Centralisation



    Formal to Informal Processes



    1993/7 Political Fund Ballots



    New Policy-Making Processes



    Agency and Diminishing Trust





    Chapter 4: The National Minimum Wage (1998)



    Introduction



    The Development of the NMW



    The Low Pay Commission



    Policy contestation and division



    Evaluation and Reflections







     



    Chapter 5: The Employment Relations Act (1999)



    Introduction



    Fairness at Work (May 1998)



    Employment Relations Bill



    ERA (1999)



    Evaluation and Reflections





    Chapter 6: The Warwick Agreement (2004)



    Introduction



    Exeter Policy Forum (2000)



    Leadership Dynamics



    The Big Four



    Institutional Reconfiguration: TULO



    The Agreement Implementation



    Evaluation and Reflections





    Chapter 7: Strategy, Influence and Power: lessons from history



    Introduction



    Structural Context: shifting fronts



    Degree of Coordination



    Transition to Informality



    Concluding Observations





    Chapter 8: Conclusion



    Leadership and Strategic Choice



    Political Action and Electoral Reform



    New Structural Pressures





    Appendix A: List of Interviews as Introduced



    Appendix B: Key provisions of the Employment Act 2002



    Appendix C: Key Warwick Agreement pledges



    Glossary



    Index

    Biography



    Andrew Brady is an academic with a PhD from the University of Strathclyde and works in the British labour movement.