ABSTRACT
The Negotiation Agenda originated from the singular circumstances of the state of industrial relations in Britain in the 1970s, which, by common agreement, left a great deal to be desired. Strikes, go-slows and other forms of industrial disruption were rife. Indeed, a Government policy document of the time was called ‘In Place of Strife’ (though the document caused so much strife within the Government that its leading Ministers eventually withdrew their proposals). A new Conservative Government, led by Mrs Thatcher and elected on a policy to reform the trade unions, implemented the fairly modest proposals of In Place of Strife and added more radical proposals of its own. Trade unions had long played a prominent role in initiating and designing legislation for previous governments, but they had practically no role under Mrs Thatcher (she simply ignored them).
