عنوان

The national agreement in the printing industry :

TLets401115

The national agreement in the printing industry :

[Thesis]

Roe, Alan

the exception to test the rule

Keele University

2003

Ph.D.

Keele University

2003

This thesis challenges the prevailing view that institutional industrial relations and multiemployerbargaining are in terminal decline. This view is partial or incomplete, but verypowerful. Whilst the decline of multi-employer bargaining has been consistently reportedin the last four decades such arrangements continue to survive in the British generalprinting industry. The following examination of this industry raises a number of questionsabout continuity rather than change in contemporary industrial relations.Many factors influence the determination of bargaining structures and arrangements. It isoften argued that external ones, such as the general political and economic climate, have asignificant impact in industrial relations. Such factors appear in many accounts of thechange experienced in the post war period. The dialogue of political and economic changehas been particularly voluble in the 1980s and 1990s. This raises the question as to whysuch external forces have still not resulted in fundamental changes to the bargainingstructures in the general printing industry. This thesis shows that although the generalclimate has an impact upon bargaining structures it is not the significant determininginfluence here. The most significant single force operating within this industry is itsstructure, although this is not determinate. The actual practice of industrial relations isfundamentally important in shaping the experiences and perspectives of the actorsinvolved, irrespective of political ideology or economic dogma. Decisions about thefuture of bargaining in general printing, and the appropriateness of the arrangements used,should therefore primarily give weight to such internal factors.

Roe, Alan

Keele University

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y