Page 30 - PWM2023_SEPTEMBER

BETTER BUSINESS

Labour

disputes

Strikes are in vogue and it seems that with every
week comes either the threat or the call for strike
action. The disputes of the last year or so are less
than ideal, but the reality is that they’re benign
T
compared to the past, by Adam Bernstein
he Office for National the walkouts by the CWU members
Statistics recently released at Royal Mail over pay and the cost-
an updated chart of labour of-living crisis. But there have been
disputes and days lost other situations to note including the
since 1931. The data is very
seeking improvements in pay for the
illuminating. Most of the
time workplaces were quite harmoni- Finnish Transport Workers union
same reason; its actions led to the
ous. However, spikes in activity are suspension of operations in ports in
clearly visible in January 1931 (3.64m relation to handling of containers.
days lost per month to strike action), Most recently, some 90-plus union-
April 1957 (3.96m), February 1972 ised workers at Cepac’s site in
(6.51m) and September 1979 Darlington are striking for 10 days
(11.71m). There are others notable during the summer because of a row
events including, surprisingly, strikes over a pay rise that has strings
held in wartime especially in March attached.
1944 (1.6m). Marina Glasgow, Acas chief con-
ciliator, understands the potential for
Not unsurprisingly, there were no disharmony. She comments that
industrial disputes between February “strikes have been a significant com-
2020 and December 2021. But post- ponent of the news in recent months The main causes of strike action
pandemic negative sentiment in the and some high-profile strike action
workplace has seen unrest, but has dominated the headlines. This is It’s fair to ask about the main causes of strike action. Is it all about cost-
nowhere near the levels seen at other something that Acas is naturally of-living pay demands, or are there other issues such as grievances or sup-
times. Indeed, only since August aware of”. port for an employee ‘unfairly’ dismissed?
2022 have days lost risen into the She explains that during 2021-22, From the TUC’s standpoint, Sharp cites the fact that the main national
hundreds of thousands with a peak in Acas was involved in 510 collective strikes have been in public services, but “there have also been many
December 2022 of 829,000. Since conciliations – a dispute involving an smaller disputes in private sector workplaces. Pay is the biggest issue with
then, the numbers are down to just employer and a group of employees, average pay worth less today than 15 years ago”.
under 130,000. typically represented by a trade Glasgow thinks the same and says that “over 60% of the collective con-
And TUC senior policy officer for union – with that figure being similar
employment rights, Tim Sharp, has to the previous year but slightly down ciliation cases that were brought to Acas in 2021-22 were pay-related”.
seen this data borne out as workers on 2019-20. However, she makes clear that many pay-related strikes are not exclusively
take action to defend their pay and The whole point of conciliation is concerned about recent rises in prices, despite the cost-of-living crisis
conditions: “While we have seen the to dilute the effect of disputes and being a widely reported issue. Indeed, she explains that a number of strikes
highest levels of industrial action talk them away. It’s for this reason “can be concerned with low pay increases or even frozen pay, and many
since the pensions strikes in public that Acas has seen many disputes unions have highlighted as part of their dispute the cumulative effect of
services a decade ago, there have that did not result in strike action. many years of low pay and lack of investment”.
been far fewer strikes than in the 60s, That doesn’t makes them any less dif- She continues: “Some disputes about pay are not just about being paid
70s and 80s.” ficult for the parties involved to
Of course, none of this diminishes resolve. This is why Glasgow says enough to live on. They can be about being paid fairly for the responsibili-
the impact of strikes on an individual that that this is why “we are improv- ties and duties of the role.” However, other situations have involved the
or business if they’re on the wrong ing our advice and guidance on how need or desire for businesses to make changes to ways of working to
side of a dispute. And print is one sec- to deal with difficult workplace situa- improve competitiveness and profitability, or simply to reduce costs dur-
tor that has been impacted following tions”. ing tough economic times.

28 PrintWeek MENA September 2023 www.printweekmena.com