How Industry is Organised

The decline of the unions

In the 1980s the British government passed several laws to restrict the power of the unions. One of these abolished the 'closed shop' (arrangement which employers made with unions to hire only people who belonged to a union). Another made strikes illegal unless a postal vote of all union members had been conducted. In 1984 there was a long miners' strike. The National Union of Miners refused to follow the new regulations. Its leader, Arthur Scargill, became a symbol (depending on your point of view) of either all the worst lunacies of unionism or the brave fight of the working classes against the rise of Thatcherism. Previous miners' strikes in the twentieth century had been mostly successful. But this one was not (the miners dad not achieve their aims); a sign of the decline in union power.

In some sectors a small number of large companies and their subsidiaries are responsible for a substantial proportion of total production, notably in the vehicle, aerospace and transport equipment industries. About 250 British industrial companies each have an annual turnover of more than ₤500 million. The annual turnover of the biggest company, British Petroleum (BP), makes it the 11^th largest industrial grouping in the world and the second largest in Europe. Five British firms are among the top 20 European Union (EU) companies in terms of capital employed.

Manufacturing accounted for 22 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1993 and for about the same percentage of employment. About 82 per cent of visible exports consisted of manufactured or semi-manufactured goods. Virtually all manufacturing is carried out by private-sector businesses. Total capital investment in manufacturing was ₤12,165 million in 1993, comprising ₤10,146 million in plant and machinery, ₤1,253 million in new building work and ₤766 million in vehicles.

The construction industry contributed 5 per cent of GDP and employment about 1.2 million people in 1993, 4 per cent of the total number of employees. Total domestic fixed capital investment in construction was ₤812 million.

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