Trade Union Structure

Abstract

The main theme of the previous chapter indicates why collective action by employers is central to the study of industrial relations. The subject has been defined in terms of processes of control over work relations; but in seeking to exercise control over their jobs, their conditions of employment and their day-to-day work practices, workers inevitably come into conflict with the aims and interests of their employers. Because the economic power of capital — reinforced by a battery of legal sanctions — is so great, the amount of control which can be exercised by employees as individuals is extremely limited. Only when they band together in common action can they begin to make serious inroads into the dominance of the employer.