The core issue in industrial relations is the balance of power between employers and workers. The Tories insist that in the 1970s it shifted too far in the interests of labour, and the Left will insist that in the last 3 decades it has shifted too far – far too far – in the interests of capital. Cameron now wants to take it even further in the interests of capital.

Last week’s strike by nearly a million public sector workers last week, protesting at low pay and a continuing real terms wage freeze, has been seized on by the Tories to push forward an obviously long-prepared plan to virtually eliminate strikes altogether. The new restrictions proposed – a 50% turnout threshold of all those entitled to vote, the code of practice on picketing to be legally binding, a requirement on unions to vote on each aspect of a dispute, and a 3-month time limit on the duration of a strike mandate – are designed to grant almost unlimited power to corporate interests. Continue reading →