Recession in the Public Sector: Industrial Relations in Freightliner 1981–1985

Edwards, Christine; Heery, Edmund

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8543.1989.tb00208.x

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…One of the great controversies in contemporary industrial relations is whether new management techniques adopted in the 1980s have fundamentally transformed the climate of labour-management relations (e.g. Batstone 1988;Edwards 1987;Edwards and Heery 1989;Kelly and Richardson 1989;Metcalf 1989;Millward and Stevens 1986;Richardson and Wood 1989). These techniques span a number of different spheres of work: rewards, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Them and Us’: Social Psychology and ‘The New Industrial Relations’

Kelly

1991

Brit J Industrial Rel

123

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This article sets out to examine the impact of ‘new industrial relations’ techniques on worker attitudes to management and to worker‐management relations. We found 17 case studies of share schemes, profit‐sharing, quality circles and autonomous work‐groups which reported relevant evidence on worker attitudes. Although workers often welcome new industrial relations techniques, there is very little evidence of any impact on ‘them and us’ attitudes. Drawing on social‐psychological theories of attitude change, the persistence of ‘them and us’ attitudes can be explained by the ways in which new industrial relations techniques have been implemented and managed in organisations. Workers have often lacked choice over participation in new schemes; there has been a lack of trust between the parties involved, together with inequality in status and benefits and a lack of institutional support for the schemes among senior management. It is argued that these conditions explain the failure of new organisational initiatives to bring about changes in ‘them and us’ attitudes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Them and Us’: Social Psychology and ‘The New Industrial Relations’

Kelly

1991

Brit J Industrial Rel

123

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“…At the local level, while the institutions of industrial relations were largely intact, practice appears to have changed more [Edwards and Heery, 1989]. Pendleton emphasises that while the basic structural features on the shopfloor in British Rail remain the same, the approach of local managements had changed.…”

Section: ) Wagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

British Industrial Relations Policy Transformed: The Thatcher Legacy

Marsh

1991

J. Pub. Pol.

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It is widely believed by political scientists that the Thatcher Governments transformed British industrial relations and ‘curbed union power’. In contrast, most industrial relations scholars have argued that despite the legislative onslaught relatively little has changed on the shopfloor. This paper examines both claims. Much has changed in Britain since 1979. In particular, the political role of unions has altered substantially. Unions in 1991 are infrequently consulted and have very little influence. In addition, the legislative framework within which unions operate is very different; their activities are much more circumscribed by the law than previously. But much less has changed on the shopfloor; for example, there is limited evidence of a major move to derecognise unions or restrict collective bargaining. Governments can only set the legislative framework within which shopfloor industrial relations operate; it cannot determine outcomes.

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Unions on the Margin?

Marchington¹

1990

Employee Relations

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Discussions about the position of British trade unions under Thatcherism continue to interest scholars and practitioners in the UK, and a variety of theories have been put forward which suggest that unions are becoming increasingly marginal to workplace employee relations. Three of these are focused on, namely, the roll‐back of union organisation, the separation of collective bargaining from strategic decision making, and the impact of employee involvement on union activity. These ideas are evaluated against data from a longitudinal study of four multi‐plant private sector organisations, each of which has high levels of union density and some forms of employee involvement. The data, which were collected in the late 1980s, suggest that simple monocausal correlations – such as employee involvement is directly undermining trade unions – are not robust enough to cope with the reality of organisational life. Much more credence needs to be given to the environmental and more broader managerial context within which employee relations takes place.

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Recession in the Public Sector: Industrial Relations in Freightliner 1981–1985

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

‘Them and Us’: Social Psychology and ‘The New Industrial Relations’

‘Them and Us’: Social Psychology and ‘The New Industrial Relations’

British Industrial Relations Policy Transformed: The Thatcher Legacy

Unions on the Margin?

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