New Focus on Industrial Democracy in Britain

Abstract

Industrial democracy in Britain has traditionally operated through the process of collective bargaining, but since 1973 the Trades Union Congress has pursued the objec tive of giving workers' representatives parity on company boards of directors with shareholders' representatives. This approach was adopted in the Labour party's election manifesto for the current Parliament, but the government, somewhat uncertain as to how to implement this objective, has appointed the Bullock Committee to investigate the issue. The com mittee's report is expected to be broadly favorable to the TUC viewpoint, but most employers and some unions want a more flexible approach to worker participation. Any government legislation in the near future is likely to be threatened by time constraints and a declining majority in Parliament, but there is general agreement in all the political parties about the need for some further development in participation, even if not about the precise form that it should take.