What Have Been the Main Developments in Strike Activity in Britain over the Last 35 Years?

What energize been the main developments in sop up activity in Britain everyplace the last 35 years? lulu activity is a form of industrial operation that can occur in the workplace once counterpoint has risen. It is a complete confirmation of work by a group of employees and its aim is to express a grievance or to enforce a demand. (Dundon, Rowlinson, 2011) Employees give usually use a impinge on as a last resort to deal with issues in the workplace workers are not able-bodied to fulfil a strike without a stringent military operation being adhered too with the help of their respective trade union.Employees can voluntarily become a atom of a trade union in which they assume for a representative to aid in times of need. Trade unions are used to regulate pay and works conditions between the employer and employee therefore employees will affirm the support of their trade union during times of proposed strike activity. There have been numerous strikes within the unavowed and public sector workforce since 1978 and this assignment is going to discuss the main developments in strike activity in Britain over the past 35 years.It goes without say that pre 1978, strikes have occurred (Sapsford, 1982) and played a significant part into more current affairs that can have relevance to post 1978 therefore numerous references possibly made to pre 1978 due to the impact it has had on the present day. Thatcher The process by which strikes have to follow is currently regulated under the Trade Union and get Relations Act 1992 (Legislation. Gov, 2013) This law outlines the rights of Trade Unions amongst other things. Notably, this law enforces that trade unions must use a process to perform a strike and this process entails the use of a postal vote called a ballot. Gov. UK,2013) Before this particular law was implemented the leader of the conservative party, Margaret Thatcher, had initiated the idea of making strike action harder to participate in. Margaret That cher was the prime minister from 1979 through until 1990 (Blundell,2008) and it was at this stage in history when trade unions were being reined in by several of Thatchers proposals. Thatcher seen the unions and their occurrence of strike activity to be disruptive and believed that the behaviour of the unions could be repressed by introducing a ballot system (Phillips,1979).This meant that employees would have to participate in a occult ballot to decide on whether to involve themselves in strike action. The introduction of this process was ruled by the Trade Union Act 1984 and meant that unions wouldnt be able to lawfully strike unless they had a majority vote (Carby-Hall,1984) therefore prolonging and hindering the prospect of employees and unions participating in strike activity. Winter of Discontent Thatchers introduction of such law appeared not long after one of the most momentous episodes of strike activity in history. The winter of discontent occurred between 1978 to 1979 a nd was recognised as the largest stoppage of crunch since the 1926 General Strike (Winter of Discontent,2007). This period of work stoppages appeared as a result of high unemployment and impolitic incomes policy, therefore workers felt the desire to fight the labour government and with the increasing size and militancy of public sector unions, the winter of discontent achieved a record status of days lost through strikes(Reitan,2003).Numerous amounts of unions and employees participated in strikes throughout the period of the winter of discontent Britain journeyed through power cuts, rubbish pilled in the streets and school closures along with a reduction to a three day working week (Elliott, 2008) all in the representation of workers welfare. A total of 39 million days were lost throughout the period between 1978 and 1979 (Gall, 2011) Coal Miners Strike The most significant affair of strike activity after Thatchers regulatory implementation to tackle trade union power was the coal miners strike in 1984.This work stoppage arose after the recession in the early 1980s which cut the demand for coal exposing the less productive parts of the industry. The strike lasted a substantial year and included the involvement of several thousand workers and was the most important defeat for trade union movement since the General Strike in 1926 agree to Lyddon. (Lyddon, 2013) This particular strike was catastrophic in regards to the potential effects not just on the coal mining industry, but also other industries that could have been affected by the decisions that lay within Mrs Thatchers power.Nick McGahey, the vice president on the NUM told a news conference that the strikers are not just engagement for their own jobs, but for the jobs other people from different industries (Miners Strike,2013). The steel, engineering and electrical industry will also experience knock on effects of numerous pit closures. As one can imagine being placed in Margaret Thatchers position as this moment in time may have been pressured to say the least, due to the scale of the strike. In 1984 there were 187,000 people in total who were miners and over half of them were participating in strike activity (Miners Strike, 2013).along with the implications of the political decisions being made, unemployment rates were at an all time high of over 3 million people unemployed. This figure was the highest since the period of the General strike in 1926 (ONS, 2013). For Mrs Thatcher, a strike of this measure must have been enough to have to tame, never mind having to battle with such high unemployment figures. This situation entirely could have been enough for the general public to view Mrs Thatcher in a negative light but she was re-elected as prime minister for the third time in 1987 (Margaret Thatcher, 2013).