Trade Union Legislation

• Tackling the trade unions was part of Thatcher's overall economic policy to reduce the influence of socialist institutions, and to promote individualism and popular capitalism
• But the conflict was also an inevitable result of her focus on realigning the British economy away from heavy industry and towards financial services
• Thatcher had been part of the Heath government that had lost power partly as a result of the 1974' miner's strike
• Although she was keen to smash the power of the trade unions, she was prepared to bide her name and avoid the mistakes made by her predecessor
• In her view, trade unions bullied individual workers into joining them, forced them into strike action they often had not wish to take part in and acted irresponsibly with no regard for democratically elected government
• Their power was undermined gradually through a series of Employment Acts:

  • 1980 Education Act meant workers did not have to join a union when they joined a particular firm, meant unions could only organise strikes against direct employers X sympathy strikes
  • 1982 Education Act meant the unions could be sued for illegal strike action
  • 1984 Trade Union Act meant that a strike had to be approved by a majority of union members ina s secret ballot before it was legal
• In 1984, Thatcher also built up coal reserves that would enable the government to resist a miners' strike without resorting to a three-day week like Heath had done