The impact of the law on industrial disputes in the 1980s: report of a survey of printing employers

This paper reports the results of one part of a research project designed to investigate the nature and extent of the impact of the labour legislation enacted between 1980 and 1990 on the conduct of industrial relations and the processes by which this has come about. Interviews were carried out with managers in a number of printing companies affiliated to the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF). In general, these managers did not see the law to be particularly relevant to their own experience. The law had not disrupted established industrial relations practices but considerable change had been achieved without major confrontation with the unions. While the law was not a prominent feature of the management of the process of change, it was seen to be a background factor of real, if limited, significance.