ABSTRACT
The Engineering section of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (AUEW) is Britain’s second biggest trade union. The AUEW fought tooth and nail against both Labour’s plans for industrial relations legislation in 1969 and the 1971 Industrial Relations Act. The AUEW president was–more than any other union boss–responsible for the total defeat of the Conservatives’ Industrial Relations Act. Not only did the AUEW position at the 1971 Congress over instruction not to register win the day, but the union refused to attend and defend itself in the National Industrial Relations Court when under attack. Indeed, during Hugh Scanlon’s years at the head of the AUEW, engineering workers have suffered a severe relative decline in their earning power. Some AUEW members believe Boyd is too obsessed with the need for efficiency, but he inherited a serious financial problem when he came into office. The AUEW has acquired a reputation for being an ineffective union.
