ABSTRACT
The degree of attention, which scholars had focused on conflict in the 1970s, may be absent today but conflict in general, and strikes in particular, continue to attract some interest. Two broad sets of articles have tended to appear in the literature. One set questions the extent of the decline in strikes (Aligisakis 1997; Gall 1999; Clarke et al. 1998), while the second questions the suitability of strike statistics as an indicator of levels of industrial conflict. Some articles in the first set raise concerns over the reliability of strike statistics and particularly the effect of changes to collection methods, which bias comparisons over time. It is suggested that in some countries there has been a systematic under-reporting of strikes and a consequent overstating of any decline. For example, Gall (1999) notes the exclusion of public sector strikes in Belgium, France, Greece (since 1993) and Portugal (since 1986). In these four countries, he argues, ‘the impact of statistical exclusions is likely to be such that serious doubts must be raised about the validity of data used and the conclusions drawn from them’ (Gall 1999: 371). Aligisakis (1997: 73) points to the ‘wave of strikes’ in France and Germany as indicative of counter currents within the general decline in strikes in Western Europe. Gall (1999) suggests that there was a greater diversity in strike trends, levels and trajectories than previously recognised. Within these articles the focus is generally on the exclusion of strikes in the public sector as there is general agreement that private sector strikes are on the decline. This mirrors the general decline in trade union density in the private sector (outside of Scandinavia) and the higher concentration of union members in the public sector.
