Industrial Conflict

In Britain, the number of working days lost through strikes in 1994 was the lowest since records began in 1891, As the Study Points have shown, there has been a similar trend throughout the west. It has been caused in part by economic insecurity, flexible working, a shortage of full-time jobs and, in Britain, new laws which make it more difficult to strike.

Strikes are the workers' most powerful, and final, weapon. A firm suffers great losses because it cannot produce any goods or services. However, the workers also lose, as they receive only I a few pounds a week in strike pay from their union. To lessen the effects on their members, unions sometimes call a short strike lasting only a few days.

In addition to strikes, workers can also; take other industrial action. The three main kinds are:

• Non-co-operation. The workers may boycott, or refuse to have anything, to do with, a new working practice of which they do not approve. For example, a new method of keeping records may have been introduced without prior talks with the unions. The workers may refuse to operate the new system.

• Working to rule. There are official rules in workplaces about the conditions and terms of employment. For example, they may specify all the parts that should be checked before a machine is used or all the protective clothing that should be worn for a particular job. In practice, some of these rules are often ignored in the interests of greater speed and efficiency. However, when there is a work to rule, or go slow, all the rules will be strictly observed. As a result, the jobs take I much longer and productivity falls. Shop stewards may take every sin­gle complaint and grievance to management, which he or she would previously have settled on the spot. As a result, management time is wasted.

• Overtime ban. Workers may refuse to work beyond the normal hours. Firms that rely heavily on overtime working to keep to their production schedules will be affected. The workers are also affected as they lose valuable overtime pay.

Employers can also take industrial action against the work force. Some of their main actions are:

• Closer work supervision. Managers can supervise, or examine, employees' work more closely and point out the faults.

• Pay freeze. Employers can say that costs have to be cut and, therefore, wages and/or salaries will have to be frozen at their present level for a period of six months or a year.

• Derecognize union. Employers can refuse to talk to a union unless over 50 per cent of employees are members.

• Lock-outs. Employers lock the work­ place gates or doors to prevent employees entering and stop paying them wages. A lock-out also harms employers as they have to go on paying their overheads and may lose orders and damage the image of the firm.

Factory or office closure. The employ­ers' final weapon is to close a factory or an office with a long record of con­flict. However, the employers may then face a large redundancy bill.

Many disputes are settled peacefully by management and unions. If they cannot settle the dispute themselves, they may call in the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). This independent body was set up during the great industrial dis­putes of the 1970s. Some of its main functions are:

• To settle disputes between unions and employers by conciliation.

• To refer unsettled disputes to arbitration with the agreement of all the parties involved.

• To advise both sides of industry on ways of improving industrial relations.

CAS has an excellent record in settling disputes. In recent years, it has not had to deal with so many industrial conflicts, owing to the great decline in both collective bargaining and trade union actions. The number of individual conciliation cases, however, has increased greatly from about 50,000 in 1986 to over 90,000 in 1995. About half of them concerned allegations of unfair dismissal.

About 70 per cent of the cases were withdrawn or settled through ACAS conciliation.