Striking in the 21st century: A UK case study
Talks and the eventual announcement of university staff going on a 18 day strike was not a surprise for many. Tens of thousands of workers in Britain have gone on strike over the past few months, including postal workers, criminal barristers, nurses, and retail workers, due to UK inflation has rising beyond 11%, the highest level in more than 40 years. This, coupled with high living costs and the lack of progressive pay to cope with the inflation rates, has left many civil servants, including public government employees, resorting to strike action for better wages. While the general masses support workers on strike action, nevertheless - for a daily consumer of transportation and education - it brings forth an essential question: what are strikes and do they work?
The History & Concept of Striking - What is it, How it Works & Why does it Exist?
Strikes, known as industrial action, is a form of labour withdrawal, usually occurring in response to an employer’s unfairness. Strikes have been happening ever since the workers at the Royal Necropolis at Deir el-Medina in Egypt organised an uprising in 1152 BC over delayed wages. British industrial action has a considerably more recent, though still tumultuous, history that has frequently been fueled by shifting economic situations.
For an industrial action to occur, the prerequisite of a disagreement between the workers and their employers has to be fulfilled. Relevant workers must register with the trade union, an organisation formed by workers from related fields that work for the common interest of its members, before voting through a system called a ballot, in which the form of action taken will be decided based on the consensus of the majority vote. When the action has been decided, both parties of employees and employers will be informed of the details for the measures to be executed. A well organised ballot is crucial as it serves as an outline for the rights of employees and employers. Employees are given the right not to comply with the working arrangements stated in their employment contracts without being dismissed but are subjected to wage reductions; while employers can rightfully dismiss employees breaching the terms of the ballot. A common form of going on strike in today’s context is picketing. While it is recognised as acceptable under the law, the picketing Code of Practice lays out the regulations on how picketing is to be observed and what qualifies it to be a transgression of law. Legal action is permitted to be taken against workers who inflict damage to property such as mass picketing - where too many workers gather in one workplace - and flying pickets - where workers shift to workplaces that are not their own.
While strikes were illegal in the past, they were made legal through the Trade Union Act of 1871, which allowed trade unions to become legal bodies, leading to an influx of workers striking for better pay conditions. In Britain, strike activity declined in the 1930s, but it greatly increased following World War II. Various successive governments' efforts to introduce measures to prevent an onslaught of strike actions were more or less seen as failures. In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s government imposed five employment acts and one Trade Union Act, reducing Trade union influence during this time period. This legislation limited picketing rights, prohibited unions from mobilising their members in favour of other unions, and imposed fines and asset confiscation on unions that struck without a ballot.
Transitioning to how strikes are perceived in today’s society, it is worth studying a recent bill imposed by the British government - the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill introduced in January 2023 - The objective of the bill is to establish a minimum service level requirement for work sectors to ensure essential activities which affect work productivity and healthcare will not be disrupted in strikes. The bill was not well received byTrade Unions as they argued over a power imbalance; as it strayed from the approach of creating an agreement between employers and employees but rather allowed the government to decide the minimum service levels by itself. The bill is also viewed as a threat to the relations between Trade Unions and their members as they would have no control over the lack of protection during industrial actions.
Impact on the Economy
Though workers on strike are generally not paid, the withdrawal of labour would nonetheless slow down the economy. Without input (labour), people would not be able to provide their labour to businesses for wages, and they would not be able to exchange their unpaid leisure time for paid work time to make a living and be able to purchase goods and services. Businesses would also not be able to use this labour to make goods and meet services demanded by consumers. This results in a decrease in labour productivity (a measure of the hourly output of a country’s economy) and eventually gross domestic product (GDP) to fall. Significant strike action, measured in 2011, saw a loss of 1.4 million working days since 2000.
For example, the impacts of strike action on the transport sector would include an increase in demand for alternative forms of transportation such as buses and planes, which would lead to an increase in prices as demand becomes inelastic due to a reduction in choices of transportation. This could potentially reduce the purchasing power of an individual as more money is required to spend on an alternative mode of transport. Furthermore, with more buses and cars on the road, it may lead to increased road congestion, leading to longer delays. For businesses, imported goods and raw materials are transported throughout the country by freight and a shutdown - even a brief one - would delay critical shipments and ripple across the economy.
With regards to the university strikes, tutors and lecturers taking part in strike action will not be working, meaning all of their scheduled classes on strike action dates will be cancelled with lecturers not obliged to inform students if they are going on strike in advance. Furthermore, they are not required to make up for any cancelled classes. While there is no penalty for students, including Tier 4 visa holders, for missing classes during strikes, due to the cancellation of classes, there might not be enough time given for students to study the syllabus, potentially leading to students cutting corners and making life-altering mistakes such as academic dishonesty and even examination malpractice, leading to delayed graduation. Moreover, school calendars would become increasingly unreliable and unpredictable because of the constant strike actions.
Despite the negative connotations associated with strikes, it is nonetheless vital to improve a worker’s livelihood. Unionised workplaces are known to be able to provide less wage disparity between different employees, allowing them to be fairer than non-union workplaces. Furthermore, these unions are able to make workplaces safer due to the adequate funding for proper equipment for workers to work safely. More importantly, these unions are able to lobby governments to push for greater employment rights for workers. According to research, these benefits contribute to happier, more satisfying, more productive organisations, as well as more democratic and equitable social outcomes. This, in turn, benefits employers in the long run.
Striking has undoubtedly had a turbulent history yet there have been success stories with many workers able to fight for better wages, as epitomised by a recent example where criminal barristers in England and Wales voted to end their strike action after the government offered a new pay deal in October 2022. Consequently, it would be plausible to say that strike action is still an effective tool in today’s 21st century.
