The Warwick Agreement (2004)

The chapter evaluates the significance of leadership changes in the largest trade unions after the 2001 general election. The chapter identifies the associated shifts in strategy and the mechanisms used to maximise trade union influence on the employment relations framework. Central to the political action strategy was the reform of TULO and the creation of the ‘Big Four’ process involving the leaders of the four largest trade unions—AMICUS, GMB, TGWU and UNISON. The leaders developed a shared interpretation of the opportunities available during Labour’s tenure in government. The strategic response resulted in the sidelining of the TUC as the primary channel of influence in favour of the Labour Party. The chapter presents evidence that substantiates that informal processes displaced formal processes to the extent they provided the positive foundation for trade unions in the Warwick Agreement (2004). The chapter discusses the relative success of the outcomes in conjunction with the value of political action in a liberal market. As such, the Warwick Agreement (2004) is judged to be contextually a greater success than the NMW (1998) and ERA (1999) in terms of process and outcomes.