What parallels can be drawn between periods of great trade union power?

Britain – Industrial Relations, 1918-79

In this course, Professor Jon Lawrence (University of Exeter) explores industrial relations in Britain from 1918-79. In the first lecture, we think about the parallels which can be drawn between periods of great trade union power in the 20th century. In the second lecture, we think about the contribution of the decline of deference and the rise of individualism in the period of strikes during the 1970s. In the third lecture, we think about how changes in the post-war world of work impacted industrial relations. Next, we think about the impact of the transforming role of the state in industry on industrial relations. In the fifth and final lecture, we think about the development of the managed economy seen in the 1960s and 70s.

What parallels can be drawn between periods of great trade union power?

In this lecture, we think about the parallels between the periods of great trade union power in 1920 and in the 1970s, focusing in particular on: (i) the period of strikes in the 1970s; (ii) the fact that, up until the late 19th century, trade union activity was often enacted outside of the law; (iii) the decision by Henry Campbell-Bannerman’s Liberal Party in 1906, to align with the new Labour Party’s proposal, to protect trade unions from prosecution over the consequences of strike action; (iv) the view that trade unions had too much power that was held in the very late 1910s and early 1920s, as well as the commonly recalled period in the 1970s; (v) the commonalities between these two periods of trade union power, including that the economy was inflationary and that the labour market meant it was difficult to fill vacated roles; (vi) the fact that around half of all workers were members of a union in 1920, which was not the case again until the 1970s; (vii) the fact that union power was reduced both in 1920-21 and in the 1970s through government intervention deflating the economy through higher interest rates, resulting in higher unemployment; (viii) the lack of a right to strike meaning that striking workers relied on the strength of trade unions to force employers to take them back after the strike, as was the case after the General Strike in 1926.