Trade Unions in Uk. History and Development

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………..2

HISTORY………………………………………………………………………………………………………..2

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CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………6

REFERENCE……………………………………………………………………………………………………….6

1. The industrial relations in the United Kingdom are characterized by voluntary relations between the social partners, with a minimal level of interference from the state. In the context of early industrialization and a liberal political culture in which the state seldom intervened in the affairs of private actors, trade unions gradually consolidated their power base throughout the 19th century. Different legislative developments permitted trade unions the right to organize workers and engage in industrial action. The first two tiers of freedom of association are entitled to legislative protection according to international resources are the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom (ECHR). In 1868 the UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) was formed. The 1871 Trade Union Act recognized trade unions as legal entities as corporations and granted them the right to strike. Later, the 1875 Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act allowed the right to peaceful picketing, while the 1906 Trade Disputes Act allowed UK trade unions to engage in industrial action without the threat of being sued for damages.

The economy throughout this time was favorable to the development of trade unionism. The role of the law in collective bargaining was more important than the influence of legal regulation. The role of statute law was to sustain collective bargaining than to regulate the system, for employers and trade unions. The law provided trade unions with ‘immunities’ from UK common law. These immunities enclosed the right of trade unions to engage in industrial action with employers, which would otherwise have been illegal under UK common law.

The...