Strikes: scattered but not eliminated

Source: Labour Market Trends, Office for National Statistics, June 2001.

Not only are strikes rare, but those which take place are generally brief. As the table shows, around half of all strikes last one day or less. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of one-day or shorter strikes: these represented under 20% of all strikes during the early 1970s.

A notable feature is the sectoral shift in strike activity. Historically, strikes were heavily concentrated in three industries: coal-mining, the docks, and motor manufacturing. By the late 1990s, days lost per employee in manufacturing had fallen to less than the national average, while the steep reduction in employment in coal-mining and the docks meant that these industries' contribution to the overall strike picture was tiny. Sectors recording above-average strike rates in 2000 included public administration (36 days lost per 1,000 employees, against an average of 20), health and social work (47 days per 10,00) and transport (63 days per 1,000).

Current issues in industrial action

During 2001, there have been three notable strikes, with several features in common.

• in February, London Underground drivers took part in three one-day strikes over safety, in the context of plans to employ private firms in the organisation, in ways yet to be finalised;

• in May, there was an unofficial strike of postal workers over the detailed implementation of a national agreement on new working time arrangements; and

• in July, firefighters in Liverpool went on an eight-day strike to protest over plans to appoint non-uniformed staff to senior management positions (a move reportedly designed to promote the employment of women and ethnic minorities in a traditionally white male culture). The firefighters' argument was that the traditional route of working one's way through the ranks should be retained. This strike was followed in September by a spontaneous walk-out lasting less than one day over the use of disciplinary action against one employee.

A fourth, smaller, notable dispute occurred in September: there was a 24-hour strike and an overtime ban at BAe Systems' Scotstoun shipyard over planned redundancies.

The common features here are: first, groups of workers with a deep tradition of trade unionism; and second, the use of strikes to defend jobs or existing and valued working practices.

In terms of total days lost, stoppages over pay tend to predominate. The largest recent dispute was a strike over pay in local government in Scotland which was settled in March after an increased pay offer.

In July 2001, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) released figures confirming the low level of industrial action. In the year to May 2001, there were 1,926 ballots for industrial action, but only 13% of these were for strikes. There were more ballots than in the previous year, but since 1,236 of them were organised by a single union over one issue, the broad usage of ballots remained low. In 81% of the strike ballots, union members supported the call for action.

As a comparison of the number of strikes and number of ballots shows, many strike threats do not materialise. During 2001, strikes were anticipated in sectors including steel, newspapers, and schools, but in many cases they did not take place. In June, there were two such strike threats: on the railways, two planned one-day strikes were called off after most rail companies agreed to union demands that train guards should not have their safety responsibilities further reduced; and on the London Underground a strike threat was lifted after management agreed to guarantee job security and existing terms and conditions should there be a change of ownership of the business. A notable feature of the London Underground dispute, in the context of traditional British dislike for legally enforceable collective agreements, was that this agreement was enforceable.

In September, the TUC urged the Department of Trade and Industry to ease legal requirements on balloting, in particular the requirement to notify the employer of the locations of workers being balloted (UK0110104N). Unions argue that with very dispersed workforces this is not always practicable. The force of the requirement was shown in February, when London Underground train guards were banned by a court from joining the drivers' stoppages because, the court found, correct notification of the types of workers being balloted was not given to the employer.

The possibility of industrial action is not limited to manual workers. In August, technicians at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon were balloted on action over possible redundancies. The actors' union Equity instructed its members to boycott films being produced after 1 December 2001, in a dispute over bonus payments. Finally, the first-ever strike of professional footballers was mooted, in another dispute on bonuses, though at the time of writing an all-out strike seemed unlikely.

Commentary

Strikes now appear to have reached close to a minimum level. They remain important in two main ways: as bargaining levers in pay negotiations; and as means for employees to signal discontent over new working arrangements, particularly where workers are employed by large organisations (as in the postal services) or where there is a tradition of organised militancy (as in the fire service). Action following a ballot is now the predominant form of strikes, with unofficial, workplace-led action being a rarity. In some sectors in the past, strike action was a relatively normal extension of collective bargaining. As well as being rarer, it is now more considered and less organically part of industrial life. Strikes continue to occur sporadically, sometimes in very unexpected places. (Paul Edwards, IRRU)