Elements of the press would have you believe that now really is the winter of our discontent. Barely a week goes by without reports of union barons planning strikes aimed at bringing the country to its knees. Some have suggested that stike laws need to be tightened further to pre-empt this threat.
But beyond the bluster, the reality is very different. In fact contrary to these scare stories, the recession that still drags on today has been notable for the relative lack of industrial strife. Unions by and large have demonstrated restraint and a willingness to compromise and work with employers.
Look at the stats. The recession of the mid-70s saw an average of 9.9 million working days lost to strikes per year. During the early 80s recession, this remained high at 4.3m days a year. Yet since the start of the dip in 2008, just 0.7m days have been lost to strikes annually, the lowest figure during any recession since records began.
How are we to explain this dramatic drop in industrial unrest? Yes, union membership has fallen since the late 70s. And yes, labour laws have been tightenend to restrict the right to strike. But neither of these can account for the scale of the decline in unrest.
The relative lack of industrial unrest has been due, in no small part, to the willingness of unions to work together with employers to protect jobs. Across the country, they have accepted tough pay settlements and difficult changes in working conditions, in order to avoid compulsory redundancies. Take BAE Systems’ Warton site which was threatened by the defence review. Working closely with management, Unite reps came up with the Employment Retention Scheme, which mitigated compulsory redundancies and protected hundreds of jobs.
Employers have also played their part. Many have kept on more employees than is necessary during the dip so they can be ready to take advantage of the recovery; so-called ‘labour hoarding’. Such compromises by employers and employees have helped keep unemployment lower than what might have been expected given the severity of the recession.
There is a risk here as this cannot go on forever. Employers can’t indefinitely hold on to excess staff and below-inflation pay deals will continue to erode real wages. Restoring strong and steady growth is essential if we are to avoiding a further rise in both poverty pay and unemployment.
There are some examples of where unions have been vital in securing the investment and jobs that we need. Community the union were instrumental in finding a new buyer for the former Corus steel plant at Redcar which re-opened this year following being mothballed in 2010. And at the Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port, Unite helped secure the contract for the new Astra by agreeing to more flexible working and a four year pay and conditions deal. The investment will see an extra 700 jobs created at the plant and over 2,000 in the supply chain.
We need to learn the lessons of the partnership working seen during the recession. Unions continue to have a vital role in representing workers and standing up for their interests. But by working in partnership with employers, unions can and indeed are helping to drive employee engagement and sustainable performance. Instead of seeing industrial relations as being characterised by adversarialism and conflict, we should recognise the common interests and the scope to work together. Unions can and indeed must be partners in building a new, more sustainable capitalism that delivers for working people.
Nita Clarke is director of the IPA.
Find out more about the IPA and the work it does at www.ipa-involve.com. Follow the IPA on twitter @IPA_Involve.
Join Nita at the IPA, Progress and Unions21 fringe ‘Social partnerships: Can business and trade unions create a new capitalism?’ 7.30pm, Monday 01 October, Peter House, Manchester. Find out more and reserve your place here.
Photo: Toban Black