Introduction

This chapter attempts to describe and account for the patterns of industrial relations which have developed within the coal industry following privatisation. One of the major findings of the chapter is that privatisation has precipitated sweeping changes in the patterns of labour relations at industry level. The empirical findings have revealed that the model is inadequate as a heuristic device designed to illuminate the dynamics of industrial relations within the privatised coal industry. This is because the response of the trade unions to management industrial relations strategies did not emerge as a significant variable. The industrial relations strategies adopted by management within the new coal companies then, have had a determining effect on the patterns of labour relations which have developed at the collieries which were studied. None of the trade union branches at the collieries owned by RJB have initiated any challenge to the labour relations strategies adopted by management at those mines.