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Have Industrial Relations in the UK Really Improved?

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  • Stephen Drinkwater
  • Peter Ingram

Abstract

. The number of strikes reported in British industry has been on a downward trend over the past two decades, falling in 1998 to its lowest level since records began. This may indicate that relations within British industry have improved; however, the same period has also witnessed a sharp increase in the number of individual ACAS and employment tribunal cases. We discuss possible reasons for the changes in the patterns of industrial unrest over time and use individual micro‐data to examine whether the observed decline in strike activity has actually been associated with an improvement in perceptions of workplace industrial relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Drinkwater & Peter Ingram, 2005. "Have Industrial Relations in the UK Really Improved?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(2), pages 373-398, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:19:y:2005:i:2:p:373-398
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9914.2005.00306.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. John Forth, 2008. "Conflict at Work: The Pattern of Disputes in Britain since 1980," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 316, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    2. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2008. "Union decline in Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19603, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Peter Urwin & Franz Buscha & Paul L. Latreille, 2014. "Representation in UK Employment Tribunals: Analysis of the 2003 and 2008 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications (SETA)," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 158-184, March.
    4. Richard Jones & Peter Sloane, 2009. "Regional differences in job satisfaction," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(8), pages 1019-1041.
    5. Constanţa POPESCU, & Elena Diana ŞERB, & Andreiana CARMEN, 2016. "Study On The Repercussions Of Conflict Situations On Employment," EcoForum, "Stefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Public Administration - Economy, Business Administration and Tourism Department., vol. 5(1), pages 1-38, January.
    6. Agnes Akkerman & Roderick Sluiter & Katerina Manevska, 2022. "Let’s take it outside: Seeking alternative targets for expressing dissent at work when voice is suppressed," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1767-1788, November.
    7. Laroche, Patrice, 2020. "Unions, Collective Bargaining and Firm Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 728, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Jeremy Tanguy, 2013. "Collective and Individual Conflicts in the Workplace: Evidence from F rance," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 102-133, January.
    9. Gürtzgen, Nicole & Garloff, Alfred, 2008. "Innovationen in den Rahmenbedingungen von Tarifverhandlungen: Endbericht zum Projekt," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 110513.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence

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