The Reform of Workplace Industrial Relations

Using empirical data, the author charts changes in workplace industrial relations, assesses various attempts at reform and evaluates the analytical approaches which have prevailed since the 1960s. He looks at developments in the decade following the proposals of the Donovan Commission and considers to what extent, in what ways, and for what reasons management tried to "reform" industrial relations. He also investigates how union organization altered during this period, and examines changes in productivity, conflict and relative gain between 1968 and 1978. An additional chapter assesses the various arguments which have been put forward concerning developments in labour relations in the 1980s, drawing upon a range of recent studies and surveys to outline areas of change and stability.