Between countries, there are substantial differences related to the success of company agreements – even within the same company. For example, the Tesco Partnership Agreement is the largest private sector collective agreement in the UK, but in Hungary no agreement between Tesco and the KASZ (Hungarian trade union) has been signed – though negotiations with KASZ have been going on for three years. However, in Spain, one of the immediate effects of recession on IR in the commerce sector and in other sectors generally was a slowing down of collective bargaining during 2009. There was no framework agreement on collective bargaining, which since 2002 has guided the evolution of wages and other matters. During 2009, many collective agreements were left unsigned, due to lack of consensus. The situation, however, improved after an agreement in February 2010.
Britain’s general strike, 1926
One of the largest general strikes struck Britain on May 3, 1926, and lasted for 10 days. The event was a watershed for labour relations in Britain, which bitterly divided opinion. The strike was called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in support of striking coal miners in the North of England, Scotland and Wales. The miners were making a stand against an enforced pay cut. It was the latest in a long series of industrial disputes that had dogged the coal industry since the end of the First World War and created real hardship for mining families.
Although the dispute began in the mining areas, one of the trigger events took place in London, when the Daily Mail’s Fleet Street printers refused to print a leading article criticising trade unions. Other print workers also downed tools. The T.U.C. activated its plans for sympathetic strike action and called out all trade union members in essential industries. Click here to read more..
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