ABSTRACT
The principal function of a trade union is the conduct of industrial relations – the regulation of relations between its members and their employer. Traditionally, collective bargaining has been the central feature of British industrial relations and British labour law has sought to provide an equilibrium between employers and workers in order to ensure the effective operation of a system of collective bargaining. This was associated with a policy of ‘voluntarism’ or ’abstentionism’ or ‘collective laissez faire’ – whereby unions and employers were expected to make their own agreements; and patch up their own quarrels with a minimum of state or legal interference.
