ABSTRACT
The formation of unions was justified by the imbalance of power in industry, but the active pursuit of ‘coercive’ objectives was seen as contrary to the general interest. The Trade Union Act of 1871 gave the unions protection from the ‘restraint of trade’ doctrine. The employers’ and trade unions’ expressed preference for making rules and resolving disputes over their application and interpretation by voluntary methods allowed the government to reject the idea of uninvited intervention. The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act of 1927 sought to deter another general strike by, among other things, stipulating criminal liabilities for strikes designed to ‘coerce’ the government. The government had already declared an interest in ensuring that the supply of manpower to industry was improved in both qualitative and quantitative terms in the form of the Industrial Training Act and the Redundancy Payments Act.
