Milner, Simon Trevor
(1993)
Industrial disputes in UK manufacturing in the 1980s: An analysis of final-offer arbitration and action short of a strike.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
Just as oranges are not the only fruit, strikes are not the only type of industrial dispute. This thesis examines two other forms of bargaining breakdown: dispute procedure usage; and action short of a strike - particularly overtime bans. It therefore covers two distinctive phenomena but some of the issues examined are relevant to both forms of disputes, whilst others are specific to one particular type. Complementary issues include the evaluation of economists' theories of bargaining impasses and the relevance of both areas to the 'new industrial relations' debate. Both parts also shed light on the important conceptual implications of applying the body of largely North American theory to the UK context. Chapter 1 illuminates the linkages between the two areas at greater length, provides important definitions, explains the data used and summarises the six substantive chapters. Chapters 2 to 5 examine final-offer arbitration (FOA) in the context of Britain's new style agreements on criteria connected to five issues: the incidence of dispute procedures and their specifications; the core question of effectiveness in terms of deterring disputes; the incidence of industrial action under particular dispute procedures; the impact of procedures on negotiated and arbitrated settlements; and the functioning of dispute procedures in action. These chapters suggest that although the evidence is mixed, there is no convincing support for the superior effectiveness of FOA over conventional arbitration or other impasse procedures. The almost totally unresearched area of action short of a strike is examined in chapters 6 and 7. The relative incidence of strikes and non-strike action is assessed using data from various UK surveys over the period 1966-1990 and principally with newly available data source - the CBI Pay Databank. Data from this source are also used to test possible explanatory factors behind the tactics of industrial action.
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