Over recent weeks, warnings have grown in the press that a "summer of discontent" could be in prospect for 2010, with the potential for widespread strike action in response to harsh economic conditions and the coalition Government's austerity package of public spending cuts. But it remains to be seen if the increasingly confrontational rhetoric from the unions will translate into actual strike action (external website), according to the Observer.
Writing in the Observer, David Teather and Dan Milmo summarise the current tense situation in the public and private sectors as follows:
For now, levels of industrial action remain relatively subdued. As personneltoday.com reports, further strike action at BA has been postponed. And last Friday (9 July 2010) saw BT and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) averting the threat of strike action, by reaching a 39-month deal on staff pay.
UK HR blogger Rick, author of the Flip Chart Fairy Tales blog, argues that a tipping-point for protest could yet be reached (external website), once the impact of public spending cuts becomes apparent. He writes:
With the Treasury warning of cuts of at least 25% in government departments and an economy threatening to slide back into recession, leading to further pay freezes and job losses in the private sector, conditions are in place for a wave of disputes. Trade unionists are using the kind of rhetoric not heard since the Thatcher government and there has been talk of co-ordinated action.However, this rhetoric may not translate into widespread strike action. The article quotes Cardiff Business School's Professor Peter Turnbull, who argues that dramatic falls in levels of union membership and legislative change over intervening period mean that a return to levels of industrial action last seen in the 1970s is unlikely. According to Turnbull:
In the 1970s, people developed a habit of striking. It was a way of resolving disputes. Now the ballot is used to send a signal to employers. People say we are going back to the 70s but that is a nonsense, not only because of the changes in legislation but also the way the process is conducted. So there will be an upsurge of conflict [...] but that does not mean there will be an upsurge in strikes.Unions are facing strong opposition from some employers (for example in the ongoing situation at British Airways (BA)) and from the Government (with David Cameron having promised a hardline stance on the unions).
For now, levels of industrial action remain relatively subdued. As personneltoday.com reports, further strike action at BA has been postponed. And last Friday (9 July 2010) saw BT and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) averting the threat of strike action, by reaching a 39-month deal on staff pay.
UK HR blogger Rick, author of the Flip Chart Fairy Tales blog, argues that a tipping-point for protest could yet be reached (external website), once the impact of public spending cuts becomes apparent. He writes:
[I]t's easy to talk about cuts for 'them' but when its our class sizes rising, our hospital closed, our day-centre cut and our bus service axed, then the reality starts to hit home. It moves from the abstract to the concrete and from the general to the specific. And when the specific means us, we start to get angry.But these are also potentially changing times for the very nature of industrial relations. The Observer article concludes that the outcome of the situation at BA will be crucial to the future path of industrial relations in the UK. It quotes Andy Cook of employment relations specialist Marshall-James, as follows:
BA is monumental. A lot of employers will be looking at BA to see what has happened, because BA has toughed it out; it hasn't given in to the unions. [...] So this is a monumental moment and others might change their tactics accordingly. The next few years are going to be very turbulent.XpertHR of course offers extensive practical guidance for employers on dealing with unions, including the following (subscription required):
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