Industrial Disputes: Essays in the Sociology of Industrial Relations

287 Pages·2003·16.019 MB·English

by  J. E. T. Eldridge

The International Library of Sociology
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
Founded by KARL MANNHEIM
The International Library of Sociology
____ .~ ____
THE SOCIOLOGY OF
WORK AND ORGANIZATION
In 18 Volumes
I Apprenticeship Liepmann
II Industrial Disputes Eldridge
III Industrial Injuries Insurance Young
IV The Journey to Work Liepmann
V The Lorry Driver Hollowell
VI Military Organization and Society Andrzejewski
VII Mobility in the Labour Market JdFY
VIII Organization and Bureaucracy Mouzelis
IX Planned Organizational Change J ones
X Private Corporations and
their Control - Part One LeY
XI Private Corporations and
their Control - Part Two LeY
XII The Qualifying Associations Millerson
XIII Recruitment to Skilled Trades Williams
XIV Retail Trade Associations LeY
xv The Shops of Britain LeY
XVI Technological Growth and
Social Change Hetzler
XVII Work and Leisure Anderson
XVIII Workers, Unions and the State Wootton
INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
Essays in the Sociology of Industrial Relations
by
J. E. T. ELDRIDGE
First published in 1968 by
Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd
Reprinted in 1998 by
Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Printed and bound in Great Britain
0 1968 J. E. T. Eldridge
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
The publishers have made every effort to contact authors/copyright holders
of the works reprinted in The International Library of Sociology
This has not been possible in every case, however, and we would
welcome correspondence from those individuals/companies
we have been unable to trace.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
Industrial Disputes
ISBN 0-415-17676-X
The Sociology of Work and Organization: 18 Volumes
ISBN 0-415-17829-O
The International Library of Sociology: 274 Volumes
ISBN O-415-17838-X
Contents
LIST OF TABLES page vI
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TEXT ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS X
INTRODUCTION I
I EXPLANATIONS OF STRIKES: A CRITICAL REVIEW 12
2 UNOFFICIAL STRIKES: SOME OBJECTIONS
CONSIDERED (Co-Author: G. C. Cameron) 68
3 THE DEMARCATION DISPUTE IN THE SHIPBUILDING
INDUSTRY: A STUDY IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF
CONFLICT 9’
4 AN OFFICIAL DISPUTE IN THE CONSTRUCTIONAL
ENGINEERING INDUSTRY (Co-Author G. Roberts) 126
J INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN THE NORTH EAST IRON
AND STEEL INDUSTRY IjI
6 REDUNDANCY CONFLICT IN AN ISOLATED STEEL
COMMUNITY 206
APPENDIX A
The Sociology of Work: Trends and Counter-trends 229
APPENDIX B
An Example of a Demarcation Procedural and
Apportionment Agreement 236
APPENDIX C
Status in Steel: A Group Discussion 249
APPENDIX D
The Shop Steward’s Role: A Comment on the North
East of England 2J9
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 264
INDEX 269
v
Tables
I Membership involvement in Strike Activity Page 24
II Average Duration of Strikes 2J
III Differences and Similarities in National Strike Patterns
1948-16 26
IV Patterns of Strike Activity and some Associated Factors 29
V General Patterns of Strike Propensities 36
VI Locational Characteristics Affecting Strike Proneness 37
VII Relative Propensity to Strike on Different Types of
Issue x927-36 41
VIII Recorded Strikes in Marine Engineering, Shipbuilding
and Ship Repair in North East x949-60 99
IX Unions involved in Recorded Demarcation Strikes in
North East Marine Engineering, Shipbuilding and
Ship Repair x949-60 101
X Length of Stoppage of Demarcation Strikes compared
with all other Strikes in North East Marine En-
gineering Ship Repair and Shipbuilding 1949-60 102
XI Numbers Directly involved in Demarcation Strikes
compared with all other Strikes in North East Marine
Engineering, Shipbuilding and Ship Repair I 949-60 103
XII U.K. output of merchant ships 1947-64 120
XIII Proportion of Wage Earners paid under systems of
P.B.R. in Building and construction industries
19j3 to 19jj ‘37
XIV Some Effects of the Overtime ban in the Constructional
Engineering Industry (January 195 5) ‘49
XV Iron and Steel Industry-North East Coast Area.
Employment at the first week in October for the
years I 949-6 I 1%
XVI Plant Bargaining: A content analysis of IOO meetings
A. Groups participating 170
B. Elements under discussion: their frequency and
mutual combination 172
C. The presence of Trade Union Officials in Relation
to Elements under Discussion I74
vi
Tables
XVII B.I.S.A.K.T.A. and the Settlement of Disputes :
A. The Use made of Statutory and Ad Hoc Pro-
cedures on the North East Coast 1945-61 192
B. A Classification of the issues leading to the use of
Statutory and Ad Hoc Procedures on the North
East Coast 1945-61 ‘93
XVIII A. Recorded Strikes in the North East Iron and Steel
Industry I 949-6 I ‘97
B. Length of Stoppages in Recorded Iron and Steel
Strikes on the North East Coast 1949-61 198
C. Numbers Directly Involved in Recorded Iron and
Steel Strikes on the North East Coast 1949-61 I99
D. Unions Involved in Recorded Iron and Steel Strikes
on the North East Coast 1949-61 201
vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
USED IN THE TEXT
A.E.U. Amalgamated Engineering Union
A.S.E. Amalgamated Society of Engineers
A.S.W. Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers
A.U.B.T.W. Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers
A.S.S.E.T. Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and
Technicians
B.1.S.A.K.T.A ,. British Iron, Steel and Kindred Trades Association
B.J.I.R. British Journal of Industrial Relations
B. J.S. British Journal oj Sociology
B.M.C. British Motor Corporation
B.M.S. Boilermakers Society
C.A.W.U. Clerical and Administrative Union
C.E.U. Constructional Engineering Union
C.S.E.U. Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering
Unions
D.A.T.A. Draughtsmen’s and Allied Technicians’ Associa-
tion
E.T.U. Electrical Trades Union
I.D.T. Industrial Disputes Tribunal
N.U.B. National Union of Blastfurnacemen
N.U.G.M.W. National Union of General and Municipal
Workers
N.U.S.M.W. National Union of Sheet Metal Workers
P.E.P. Political and Economic Planning
P.B.R. Payment by Results
P.T.U. Plumbing Trades Union
S.R. Sociological Review
T.G.W.U. Transport and General Workers Union
T.U.C. Trade Union Congress
U.P.A. United Pattern Makers Association
ix
Acknowledgements
Ihe impetus to write this book came initially from involvement in an
ndustrial relations research project sponsored by the Department of
Scientific and Industrial Research and undertaken by the Business
Research Unit at the University of Durham (1961-64). The focus then
was upon the elucidation of points of friction existing between manage-
nent, unions and men in three major North-East industries: engine-
:ring, shipbuilding and steel. While these particular essays are written
From a sociological perspective, I hope that they bear the marks of the
stimulating inter-disciplinary discussions that took place in the course
3f the Durham research. I refer here particularly to economists
Gordon Cameron, Alan Odber and Geoffrey Roberts and psycho-
logist Charles Baker. Two of the essays in this volume (Chapters z and
4) are in fact joint ventures and I record here my thanks to Gordon
Cameron and Geoffrey Roberts for permission to publish them.
A number of academic colleagues have read and commented help-
fully on these essays while they were still in manuscript form. They are
Professors N. Elias, R. Fletcher and W. J. H. Sprott. To them I should
ike to add the name of publisher Norman Franklin, not least for his
.njunction to keep the text as jargon-free as possible. Other colleagues
nave commented on particular essays in one or other of their several
lrafts and I am glad to have this opportunity of thanking them. They
are Alan Odber (Chapters 2 and 6), Professor John Rex (Chapter 3),
Professor H. A. Turner (Chapter 4) and Professor T. Lupton (Chapter
5).
It remains for me to thank the following publishers for permission
to re-publish essays (in slightly altered form) from two learned journals :
Basil Blackwell for permission to re-publish ‘Redundancy Conflict in
In Isolated Steel Community’ from The Journal of Management Studies,
Vol. 3, No. 3, October 1966.
Routledge & Kegan Paul for permission to re-publish ‘Unofficial
Strikes: some objections considered’, from the British Jownal of
Sociology, Vol. XV, No. I, March 1964.