What were the Causes of the Breakdown in Industrial Relations, 1945-79?

Question 1

Growing Union Militancy- 1950s

Answer 1

Divide- younger workers more militant, influenced by materialist attitudes
Felt left behind in consumer boom
Shop-stewards staged walk-outs before negotiations
More aggressive, hostile, confrontational, and demanding

Question 2

Growing Union Militancy- 1960s

Answer 2

Shop stewards used wildcat strikes- 1964, 90% of strikes
Average of 3 million working days lost each year
1968- 4.7 million-The Times ‘the year of the strike’

Question 3

Growing Union Militancy- 1970s

Answer 3

1971- National Union of Miners (NUM) demanded 43% pay increase, rejected counter offer of 8% and called for all 280,000 miners to strike in January
Led by Arthur Scargill- radical Marxist- militant, used ‘flying pickets’- had 40,000 picketing 500 sites
Gov introduced ‘three-day week’ in Feb, miners got 27% pay rise

Question 4

Economic Context- 1960s

Answer 4

Heavy industry declining since WW1, heavy job losses
1963, economy bad, unemployment at 383,000 in 1957, grown to 878,000 by 1964
Late 1960s, over 1 million unemployed + inflation rising

Question 5

Economic Context- 1970s

Answer 5

Industrial workers underpaid + undervalued, wages 3% lower than manufacturing workers
1960s, 400 coal pits closed, 420,000 miners redundant + wages slashed
1971- inflation over 10%, reached 15% in 1972- standard of living declining

Question 6

Ineffective Government Policy- MacMillan (1957-63)

Answer 6

Corporatist approach, 1962 NEDDY + NICKY
Both advisory, had no power, were largely ignored by employers + unions
Unions refused ‘voluntary wage restraint’ + employers frequently gave into strike action
Ineffective- 2,000 strikes per year in 1960s, 1964 over 2 million working days lost

Question 7

Ineffective Government Policy- Wilson (1964-70)

Answer 7

Series of laws- Prices and Incomes Acts (1966 + 1967)
(Wage freeze + productivity)
Did little to dissuade unions, wildcat strikes continued
‘In Place of Strife’ proposed in the ‘White Paper’- but not passed, fear of splitting Labour Party

Question 8

Ineffective Government Policy- Heath (1970-74)

Answer 8

Industrial Relations Act (1971), introduced many measures from ‘In Place of Strife’
TUC agreed to adhere, but individual unions refused
Heath’s government reluctant to enforce legislation- impractical to arrest workers
Failed to control strikes

Question 9

Ineffective Government Policy- Callaghan (1976-79)

Answer 9

Wilson resigned in 1976- ill health
Callaghan removed ‘social contract’, allowing unions to negotiate pay increases freely
1977- inflation increasing, so introduced 5% pay demand cap- wave of strikes, ‘winter of discontent’ 1978-79
Gov forced to break own policy- gave public sector workers 11% pay increase