ABSTRACT
As has been indicated in the section on the international environment (see Chapters 2, 3 and 4) the UK is inevitably affected by many of the developments identified; the labour force and market in the UK do not exist in isolation from these events and influences. In this chapter we concentrate
214 Exploring Employee Relations
upon characteristics, developments and trends at the UK national level but you should bear in mind that many other countries are experiencing similar events and pressures and, of course, that as a member of the EU, the UK labour force and market are in some sense each part of a larger European whole. That is not to say that there is yet a single EU labour market but there are definite trends and intentions in that direction. In this chapter reference is made on a number of occasions to trends and characteristics of labour markets and forces in the EU, this will enable you to view the labour market in the UK in its immediate wider context and also fulfils the purpose of facilitating comparative analysis.
