Strikes in the 1980s – and Beyond

Abstract

The aim of this book has been, first and foremost, to assist the sociological understanding of industrial relations and in particular of industrial conflict. A major focus of analysis has been the antagonistic relationship between labour and capital: between workers of every kind (manual, technical, clerical) on the one hand, the employers and their agents who seek to control their work activities on the other, and the social and economic system which structures the world of work. A basic argument has been the dialectical character of industrial relations. What occurs is not simply the mechanical outcome of large-scale social forces, and can be understood only by reference to the perceptions, intentions and strategies of the men and women involved. Yet at the same time, people’s consciousness and wills are the product of material social conditions, and these conditions set limits to what can be achieved through individual or collective action.