The Industrial Relations Act 1971 (c.72) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

, since repealed. It was based on proposals outlined in the governing Conservative Party's

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

for the 1970 general election. The goal was to stabilize industrial relations by forcing concentration of bargaining power and responsibility in the formal union leadership, using the courts. The act was intensely opposed by unions, and helped undermine the government of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

. It was repealed by the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 when the Labour Party returned to government.

Background

The Act followed the '' Report of the Royal Commission on Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations'', led by Lord Donovan, which sought to reduce industrial conflict and introduce a claim for

unfair dismissal In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation. Situation per country Australia (See: '' unfair dismissal in Australia'') Australia has long-standing ...

. However, under a Conservative government, the protection for workers was reduced compared to the Donovan Report proposals, and coupled with suppression of the right to collective bargaining, compared to the previous position. The

Second Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

of the Industrial Relations Bill took place on 14 and 15 of December 1970, and the Third Reading on 24 March 1971.

Workers were given the right to belong to a registered trade union or not to belong to a registered or unregistered trade union. Collective agreements were to be legally enforceable unless a disclaimer clause was inserted. There was a greater chance that collective 'no strike' clauses could be implied into individual contracts of employment. Only registered trade unions had legal rights and to enjoy legal immunities. Continued registration was dependent on the organisation having rules which specified how, when and by whom, authority was to be exercised, especially concerning the taking of industrial action. A grievance procedure was required to be included in the written statement of particulars of the contract of employment. A worker under a normal contract of employment could receive compensation for unfair dismissal to encourage the development of dismissal procedures. The law limited wildcat strikes and prohibited limitations on legitimate strikes. It also established the National Industrial Relations Court, which was empowered to grant

injunctions An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...

as necessary to prevent injurious strikes and settle a variety of labour disputes.

Trade union reaction

The

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

(TUC) under the leadership of

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Vic Feather campaigned against the legislation with a nationwide "Kill the Bill" campaign. On 12 January 1971 the TUC held a 'day of action' in protest, with a march through London. In March, 1,500,000 members of the

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History The history o ...

staged a one-day strike. After the bill received

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, in September 1971 the TUC voted to require its member unions not to comply with its provisions (including registering as a union under the Act). The

Transport and General Workers Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

was twice fined for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

over its refusal to comply. However, some smaller unions did comply and 32 were suspended from membership of the TUC at the 1972 congress.

Protest

Campaigning against the Bill eventually coalesced around individual workers. When the Pentonville Five were arrested for refusing to appear before the National Industrial Relations Court and imprisoned in the summer of 1972, their case received great publicity. Eventually, the Official Solicitor intervened to order their release.

Repeal

Prime Minister

called a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

over the issue of "Who Governs Britain?" in February 1974, during a lengthy dispute with the National Union of Mineworkers. Two days before polling day, the Director-General of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a UK business organisation, which in total claims to speak for 190,000 businesses, this is made up of around 1,500 direct members and 188,500 non-members. The non members are represented through the 1 ...

Campbell Adamson made a speech in which he said "I should like to see the next government repeal the Act so that we can get proper agreement on what should replace it". Adamson's statement made headlines, and was thought to have damaged the Conservative Party's election prospects. Adamson's statement was repudiated by CBI President Sir Michael Clapham, and he offered to resign (the offer was refused). The incoming Labour government repealed the Act through the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974.

Notes

References

*Moore, Charles. ''Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Falklands'' (2013), ch 10 *Moran, Michael. ''The Politics of Industrial Relations: The Origins, Life and Death of the 1971 Industrial Relations Act'' (London: Macmillan, 1977) *Panitch, Leo. ''Social Democracy and Industrial Militancy: The Labour Party, the Trade Unions, and Incomes Policy, 1945-1974'' (Cambridge U. Pr., 1976). *Rideout, RW ‘The Industrial Relations Act 1971’ (1971) 34(6) ''Modern Law Review'' 655 {{UK legislation Industrial Relations and the Limits of Law, Weekes, Mellish, Dickens, Loyd, 1975, p4, Basil Blackwell, Oxford. United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1971 United Kingdom labour law Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament Labour relations in the United Kingdom 1971 in labor relations