Industrial action (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

) or job action (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or

slowdown A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a stri ...

or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increase bargaining power with the employer and intended to force the employer to improve them by reducing

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

in a workplace. Industrial action is usually organized by

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s or other organised labour, most commonly when employees are forced out of work due to contract termination and without reaching an agreement with the employer. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

for strike or mass strike, but the scope is much wider. Industrial action may take place in the context of a labour dispute or may be meant to effect political or social change. This form of communication tends to be their only means to voice their concerns about safety and benefits.

Types

Blue flu A blue flu is a type of strike action undertaken by police officers in which a large number simultaneously use sick leave. A blue flu is a preferred strike action by police in some parts of the United States where police strikes are prohibited b ...

General strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

( mass strike) * Occupation of factories * Overtime ban * Picketing *

Slowdown A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a stri ...

(or Go-slow) * Strike *

Work-to-rule Work-to-rule, also known as an Italian strike or a slowdown in United States usage, called in Italian a ''sciopero bianco'' meaning "white strike", is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their co ...

References

Labor disputes {{labor-stub

Types

See also

References