A detailed examination of the industrial relations and employment legislation introduced by the Conservative government and its impact on trade unions: their role, organization, influences and prospects. Emphasis is placed on the use of ballot legislation as an instrument in this process.

Balloting has been held to undermine collective decision making within unions. This article, based upon analysis of the rule books of all TUC affiliated unions and case study material, outlines the law on balloting and collective bargaining, and examines the response to legislative changes. The...

The paper reports a major part of the results of a research project on trade union ballots in the 1980s, concerned with the role of ballots in collective bargaining. The project investigated the changes made by unions in the conduct of collective bargaining as a result of government legislation...

There is a need to open out the debate on the Conservative government's employment policy, to move away from thematic analysis of the legislation of the 1980s and to pay more attention to the 'wellsprings' of the Conservative government's 'reform' of industrial relations since 1979. Where...

Since 1979, the Conservative government in the UK has introduced wide-ranging and detailed regulations for the conduct of union internal affairs; a number of other Western industrialized countries have not done so (or have not done so to the same extent) but have continued their tradition of...

During the 1980s the Conservative government argued that trade unions' leaders and policies did not accurately reflect the views of their members. Accordingly, the Trade Union Act 1984 required that all voting members of union principal executive committees be periodically elected by individual...

This article outlines Conservative legislation on union government, documenting extensive regulation in place by 1994. It looks at the major objectives of government policy, including the twin themes of encouraging individualism and reducing union power. The degree of success achieved is...

The paper analyses the legislation upon union government enacted by Conservative Governments since 1979 and discusses possible criteria for evaluating its success or otherwise.

This is the second of two linked articles on the question of union autonomy; the first appeared in the previous issue of this journal. It considers state control and approach to union autonomy in the wider context of state controls on unions' bargaining activities including industrial action....