ABSTRACT
The Social Contract chapter outlines several historically important events, principally the Donovan Commission (1968), ‘In Place of Strife’ (1969) and the Industrial Relations Act (1971). The events provide economic and political context to the Social Contract as an exchange process between the TUC and the Labour Government (1974–79). The process was coordinated through the TUC-Labour Party Liaison Committee, which engaged non-affiliated and affiliated Labour Party trade unions through the TUC as the channel of policy influence. The significant legislative gains incorporated within the wider Social Contract along with the demise of the incomes policy component are presented to provide a wider appreciation of a process which began in 1971. As part of the analysis, the strategic miscalculations by both trade unions and the Labour Government are considered. In particular, this focuses on the rigidity of the government’s 5 per cent target in 1978, which paved the way towards the industrial unrest in the Winter of Discontent. The chapter concludes by presenting observations that challenge the dominant discourse, which attributes blame on the trade unions for the collapse of the Social Contract and considers the process through a more positive reflective lens.
