Industrial Conflict

Definition of industrial conflict Industrial conflict can be defined as the total range of behaviours and attitudes that express opposition and divergent orientations between industrial owners and managers, on the one hand, and working people and their organisations on the other (Kornhauser et al. 1954, p. 13).

Different forms of conflict Organised conflict: - collective in nature, involves groups of employees or trade unions - open (or overt), obvious to all that it is occurring - takes the form of: - strikes - lockouts - overtime bans, working to rule, restrictions on output - political action Unorganised conflict: - individual in nature, only involves single employees - hidden (or covert), not obvious it is occurring - takes the form of - absenteeism - labour turnover - low productivity - acts of indiscipline and sabotage

Theories of industrial conflict (1) Strikes as a product of industrialisation (1) Key proponents: Ross and Hartman (1960) Reference country: Various Theory: Identifies four patterns from industrialised and industrialising countries: North European (Type 1), North European (Type 2), Mediterranean/Asian, North American (i) as industrialisation advances, labour movements mature from industrial to political action, and governments increasingly intervene in economy and industrial relations

(ii) consequent withering away of strikes as unions increasingly accommodated in industrial and political systems
(iii) consequent convergence in national industrial relations systems as a result of industrialisation.

Theories of industrial conflict (2) Strikes as a product of industrialisation (2)

Key proponents: Marx (1857), Hyman (1975, 1989) Reference country: general (but mainly Britain) Theory: (i) industrialisation divides society into classes with directly conflicting economic interests
(ii) exploitation of workers occurs as wealth is concentrated in fewer and fewer owners of means of production (iii) workers become conscious of their exploitation, realise common interests and organise to resist (iv) conflict occurs and will continue until new social and economic order where the proletariat (workers) own the wealth.

Theories of industrial conflict (3)

Strikes as a product of institutionalisation

Key proponent: Dubin (1954) Reference country: general Theory: (i) where regulation is unilateral or statutory, there are more strikes (ii) where formalised collective bargaining occurs (allowing dispassionate airing and orderly settlement of grievances), there are fewer strikes. Key proponent: Clegg (1976) Reference country: six Anglo-Saxon/European countries (mainly Britain) Theory: (i) the more comprehensive the dispute settlement procedures under collective bargaining, the fewer strikes occur (ii) plant-level bargaining involves fewer workers, but more strikes (iii) industry and national-level bargaining involves larger numbers of workers in shorter strikes

Theories of industrial conflict (4)

Strikes as a product of political factors

Key proponents: Shorter and Tilly (1974) Reference country: France Theory: highly organised trade unions, plus low access to the political system results in high incidence of strikes Key proponents: Korpi and Shalev (1979) Reference country: Sweden Theory: highly organised trade unions, plus a high ability to access government leads to a low incidence of strikes Key proponents: Snyder (1975) Reference country: United States of America Theory: politically legitimised collective bargaining produces fewer strikes Key proponent: Hibbs (1976) Reference country: general (but mainly United States of America) Theory: countries with high welfare expenditure and strong left-wing parties are less strike-prone.

Theories of industrial conflict (5)

Strikes as a product of the business cycle

Key author: Hansen (1921) Reference country: United States of America Theory: (i) in recession, trade unions defend wages and conditions against employer cost-cutting, so strikes increase (ii) in economic booms, trade unions become offensive to protect real wages against rising prices, so strikes increase (iii) in periods of economic stability, when prices neither rise nor fall, the incidence of strikes is lowest Key proponents: Creigh and Makeham (1982) Reference country: general Theory: strikes about employer willingness to concede to union demands (i) in times of low economic growth and high unemployment, employers less willing to concede, leading to more strikes (ii) when growth high and unemployment low, employers avoid disruption by meeting union demands, leading to fewer strikes

Theories of industrial conflict (6) Strikes as a product of economic factors (1) Key proponent: Davis (1979)
Reference country: general (but mainly Britain and Europe)

Theory: strikes are result of union and employer expectations of inflation. (i) when each sides expectations of inflation are similar it is easier to reach agreement on wages (ii) when each sides expectations are different because of changing inflation, agreement on wages is harder and strikes increase Key proponent: Runciman (1966)
Reference country: general (but mainly Britain)

Theory: feelings of relative deprivation and organisational ability cause strikes. Workers make comparisons about wages, those worse off with the power to redress do so by strikes. Key proponent: Marx (1857)
Reference country: general

Theory: absolute deprivation is key source of industrial conflict, when wages of workers are forced below subsistence level by need of capitalists to constantly reduce costs to remain competitive.

Theories of industrial conflict (7) Strikes as a product of economic factors (2) Key proponent: Hibbs (1976) Reference country: general (but mainly the United States of America) Theory: (i) in times of high unemployment, workers are less willing to go on strike for fear of losing their jobs (ii) in times of low unemployment, workers are more willing to go on strike as a means of making up lost ground Key proponents: Smith et al. (1978) Reference country: Britain Theory: Strikes caused by four variables: (i) earnings levels: high paying industries are more strike prone (ii) labour intensity: high labour cost industries are more strike-prone (iii) organisation size: large industries more strike-prone than small (iv) prevalence of female workers: industries with many female workers are less strike-prone than those employing mainly males

Theories of industrial conflict (8) Strikes as a product of social factors Key proponents: Kerr and Siegal (1954) Reference country: general Theory: industries in isolated communities, lacking alternative employment are more strike-prone than those in urban communities. Key proponent: Mayo (1933) Reference country: United States of America Theory: industries where social needs of workers are not satisfied are more strike-prone than industries where the social needs of workers are met. Needs seen as open communication and inclusive management practices. Poor communication and alienating management practices are basic cause of strikes. Key proponents: McGregor (1966), Maslow (1954) and Herzberg (1966) Reference country: general (but mainly the United States of America) Theory: strikes are high when managers fail to provide workplace structures that allow employees to make full use of their abilities.