Affluence and Industrial Relations in Post-War Britain

Affluence was a key element in the social history of post-1945 Britain. Contemporary analyses focused on the combination of acquisitiveness and full employment as one explanation for unstable and disorderly industrial relations. A contrasting development, also linked to the affluent economy, was the expansion of individual employment law that concentrated not on pay but on rights and justice at work. Both of these strands emphasised the importance of individual interests as opposed to the collective solidarities of trade union action. Such solidarities were displayed in picketing during strikes in the 1970s, which aroused great public unease. As a consequence, trade unions were weakened and the collective element in industrial relations diminished.