This paper explores variations in the pattern of colliery level industrial relations following the privatization of British Coal in four pits operated by the largest coal mining company in the UK. Differences are explained in terms of the competing institutions representing mineworkers and, most...

The statutory rights conferred on trade union learning representatives (ULRs) under the 2002 Employment Act represent a significant development for the British trade union movement.This article presents an initial empirical assessment of the ULR initiative, drawing from original quantitative and...

The European steel and metal sectors have experienced processes of radical restructuring. Employers within the sector increasingly require employees to have a broader and deeper range of skills, although restructuring has also highlighted the need for workers to gain transferable skills in order...