The recent announcement, that industrial action by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) appears inevitable in the coming months, combined with a planned autumn term strike by members of two teaching unions and a claim from the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that strike action by postal workers is unavoidable, may make you think that industrial action in the UK is on the increase.

1. Is Industrial
Action in the UK
on the Rise?
The recent announcement, that industrial action by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
appears inevitable in the coming months, combined with a planned autumn term
strike by members of two teaching unions and a claim from the general secretary of
the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that strike action by postal workers is
unavoidable, may make you think that industrial action in the UK is on the increase.
Looking at figure 1, however, illustrates that the
number of working days lost due to industrial
action has in fact significantly decreased since
the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.
Figure 1
Source: ONS data, Labour Disputes September 2013.
Unrest amongst workers was commonplace
during this period and was exacerbated by The
Winter of Discontent in 1979 and the year-long
National Miners Strike of 1984.
A recent resurgence?
In 2011, the number of working days lost
peaked at 1.4 million, its highest level since the
1980’s.
The Conservative government of Margaret
Thatcher introduced considerable amounts of
Trade Union legislation during the 1980’s which
severely limited their ability to take industrial
action.
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2. Is Industrial Action in
the UK on the Rise?
continued
On closer inspection, the reason for the industrial
disputes has changed during recent times. During
2009 and 2010, the main cause of industrial
disputes was redundancies. However, during
2011 and 2012, the main cause had reverted
back to wage disputes. There is clearly a link
here to the recession, with workers concerned
about their job security.
The current situation
The FBU have called a 4 hour strike on 25th
September in a row with the government over
the terms of their pensions. Two teaching unions,
the NASUWT and NUT, are planning to strike in
October over pay, pensions and their working
conditions. The CWU are expected to strike over
the government’s plans to privatise the Royal
Mail.
Unrest amongst many public sector workers is
clearly quite strong, whether the government will
take action to try and avert this planned action is
yet to be seen. Maybe the prospect of a general
election in 2015 will start to affect their decision
making regarding the unions... maybe not!
Figure 2
Source: ONS; Labour Disputes Annual Article, July 2013.
Figure 3
Source: ONS; Labour Disputes Annual Article, July 2013.
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