- Academic explains how two years of employee constraint during pandemic now coming to a head
- Professor Kathy Daniels looks beyond the headlines of pay disputes to find underlying discontent
- She expects more industrial unrest, but considers strikes as widespread as in 1970s unlikely
A ‘perfect storm’ of unfavourable issues has led to the current wave of strike action causing misery for millions of people across the UK, according to an academic at Aston University.
But despite the crippling industrial action by rail unions, postal workers, and even barristers, there is unlikely to be a repeat of the 1970s ‘winter of discontent’.
That is the view of Professor Kathy Daniels, an expert in employment law and employee relations, and an associate vice-chancellor in engagement at Aston University.
Professor Daniels, formerly head of human resources (HR) at a large manufacturing company, was talking about the current industrial situation in the latest episode of the ‘Aston means business' podcast series, presented by journalist Steve Dyson.
She said:
“It’s a little bit of a perfect storm of things coming together. First of all, we’ve had Covid and, for a couple of years, employees on the whole have not taken industrial action. Of course, a lot were furloughed.”
Professor Daniels explained that there also seemed to be an attitude of “keep your head down and be thankful you have a job”, which meant some of the “general bubbling along of discontent” wasn’t happening but now seems to have “piled up”.
She said the UK then had the “very real issue” of the cost-of-living crisis and people worried about being able to pay their bills, as well as the “huge” increase in inflation.
As a result, employees who previously received pay rises in line with inflation when the rate was very low are now seeking much higher pay settlements.
Professor Daniels said pay was always the headline news in disputes, but added:
“Quite often when something bubbles up to the point of industrial action there is lots of discontent for lots of different reasons.”
She pointed out that under UK legislation, most employees can strike in action organised by recognised trade unions with the exception of groups like the Army, police and prison workers. Although taking, or calling, strike action is considered a breach of contract, she said it was lawful if it is in “furtherance of a trade dispute”.
The law was a lot different during the 'winter of discontent' in the 1970s, said Prof Daniels, when it was much easier to take industrial action. But things changed following the miners' strike of 1984 to 85.
She said:
“The prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, quite openly talked of the need to reduce the power of the trade unions and, therefore in effect, the power of the employees.”
The government had previously “caved in” during miners’ strikes, she explained, but what Mrs Thatcher did, unknown to the unions, was stockpile a year’s supply of coal which shifted the “balance of power”.
The Trade Union Act 2016 then changed the rules on balloting so, instead of only three people out of a 100-strong workforce voting and two of those favouring strike action, you now need at least 50 per cent of eligible employees to vote. A further change in the law this year allows employers to use agency workers during strikes.
But Professor Daniels advised employees to use always the formal grievance procedure first, or “just have a chat with your employer” to solve an issue and not think of it as a “legal confrontation”.
She said that employers looking to avoid industrial action should try to have positive relationships with their workers.
“My main advice to business leaders is work on those relationships and don’t be afraid to confront problems so they don’t fester.”
Despite the recent increase in industrial unrest, Professor Daniels is hopeful that the UK is not heading for a repeat of the ‘winter of discontent’.
“The ‘winter of discontent’ involved a lot of different areas of work coming together and taking industrial action in a more coordinated way. I’m not convinced we are likely to see that because I don’t think we have that strength of feeling across enough areas.”
However, she warned:
“There is a possibility that we are going towards a period of quite significant industrial action because we are seeing that already. If employers don’t address some of the issues around inflation and cost of living we might not see a winter of discontent on the scale of the 1970s but I think we are going to see more industrial action.”
Episode five in series five of ‘Aston means business’ podcast can be found here.
- Notes to Editors
About Aston University
Founded in 1895 and a university since 1966, Aston is a long established university led by its three main beneficiary groups – students, business and the professions, and the West Midlands region and wider society. Located in Birmingham at the heart of a vibrant city, the campus houses all the University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our students. Professor Aleks Subic is the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive.
In 2022 Aston University was ranked in the top 25 of the Guardian University Guide, based on measures including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects. The Aston Business School MBA programme was ranked in the top 100 in the world in the Economist MBA 2021 ranking.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Rebecca Hume, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44)7557 745416 or email: r.hume@aston.ac.uk
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