Professional Documents
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INTERNATIONAL
& COMPARATIVE
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Globalisation and change Russell D Lansbury and Nick Wailes
CHAPTER 2
Employment Relations in Britain
Mick Marchington, Jeremy Waddington and Andrew Timming
Allen & Unwin, 2011. These slides are support material for International and Comparative Employment Relations 5th edition. Lecturers using the
book as a set text may freely use these slides in class, and may distribute them to students in their course only. These slides may not be posted on
any university library sites, electronic learning platforms or other channels accessible to other courses, the university at large or the general public.
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Lecture outline
Context and key themes
The role of the state and shifts in British IR policy
British union movement
British employers and employers associations
British styles of human resource management (HRM)
Collective bargaining
Employee involvement and participation
Fairness at work
European Union (EU) membership and consequences
Networked organisations/outsourcing
Conclusions
Chapter 2:
2 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
4 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Key themes
Especially since 1979 the British system has been radically
reformed by interventionist legislation characterised by
labour market re-regulation and attempts to foster a
competitive enterprise culture
Reforms were initiated by Conservative Governments
between 1979 and 1997. Many were maintained by the 1997-
2010 New Labour Governments. How would you characterise
the approaches of the post-2010 Conservative-Liberal
Democrat coalition government?
Combined with broader macro-economic trends and shifts in
the labour market, such reforms have had profound effects on
British industrial relations
Chapter 2:
5 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
The state:
from voluntarist to interventionist
In an attempt to reverse economic decline,
governments from the 1970s onwards legislated
industrial relations reform
The most radical of these reforms were those of the
Conservative Thatcher Government (1979-1990)
which aimed to reduce the power of the unions
Some have characterised this point in British history
as the shift from a voluntarist to a neo-liberal
interventionist state
Chapter 2:
7 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
8 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Dispute settlement
The state has long provided conciliation and arbitration
services to supplement voluntary collective bargaining and
dispute procedures
Since 1975 these services have been offered by the
independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
(ACAS) under the Employment Protection Act
ACAS is a governmental agency governed by a tripartite
council, of employer and union nominees with a balance of
independent members e.g. academics
ACAS offers industrial relations advice as well as conciliation
and non-compulsory and non-binding arbitration services to
the parties to individual and collective agreement disputes
Chapter 2:
9 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
11 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Decline in strikes
Along with the decline in unionisation there has been a
decline in strike activity
From a peak of 3906 strikes with almost 11 million working
days lost in 1970, the number of strikes fell to 116 in 2005,
resulting in only 157 000 working days lost
Wages and pay-related issues still underpinned more than
half of the strikes in 1999
In the twenty-first century, a greater proportion of strikes are
defensive strikes
Decline of strike action in Britain may be steeper than
elsewhere due to the restrictive legislation introduced by the
Conservative Thatcher government
Chapter 2:
14 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
15 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
17 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
18 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Employers in Britain
Since the 1980s, British employers have exercised
greater managerial power driven by higher levels of
competition in product markets and reductions in
unionism
There is diversity in the mix and balance of individual
employer strategies to achieve control, productivity
increases and cost reduction, for example:
pragmatic/opportunistic approach (cost-driven strategy), vs.
high-commitment approach (flexibility and employee
commitment)
Chapter 2:
20 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Chapter 2:
22 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Fairness at work
A national minimum wage was first introduced in 1999, as a
positive contribution to fairness in the workplace
Relative pay inequality has not been addressed and has been
institutionalised in the form of bonuses and performance-
related pay
Gender inequality remains evident; only a little progress has
been made on this front beyond some redress in the form of
the national minimum wage
Increased immigration raises challenges in preventing and
resolving disputes over racial discrimination at work
Workplace bullying and harassment more generally is an issue
of increasing importance
Chapter 2:
25 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Employment relations
and networked organisations
The growth of outsourcing fragments the concept of
employment relations and creates special challenges
for individuals working for subcontractors in terms
of:
Employment security
Pay and benefits
Employee voice
There is a challenge for those who try to theorise
about IR and HRM to explain multi-employer
networks
Chapter 2:
28 Britain
Copyright Allen & Unwin, 2011
International & Comparative Edited by Greg J Bamber,
Employment Relations 5th edition Russell D Lansbury & Nick Wailes
Conclusions
Since 1979, the IR system has experienced substantial change
from a voluntarist system to one of increased state
intervention
Despite increased juridification, there is still not a strong and
centrally regulated IR system. This has resulted in employer
autonomy to pursue either a:
Low-road/contract approach of cost-minimisation
High-road/status approach of high-commitment
Union density fell to half of its peak in 1979 and unions are
struggling to find a clear identity and new roles
EU membership continues to influence domestic IR legislation
Allen & Unwin, 2011. These slides are support material for International and Comparative Employment Relations 5th edition. Lecturers using the
book as a set text may freely use these slides in class, and may distribute them to students in their course only. These slides may not be posted on
any university library sites, electronic learning platforms or other channels accessible to other courses, the university at large or the general public.