The Industrial Relations During The Summit Of The British Hegemony(1850-1880)

Labor relations (or labor-capital relations; industrial relations) is one of the most important social relations in a industrialized society, as it is not only important for industrial prosperity, but also for social stability or social harmony. After the Great Britain has stepped into a industrialized country, its economy has still developed rapidly and some new changes have emerged in its industrial relations. Considering the experience of industrialization, the labors, employers and government all have strived to achieve a harmonious labor relations. The British Government has inherited the tradition of law intervention, passing a series of laws to mediate the industrial relations, which has facilitated the emergence of collective bargaining. In addition, the British government has increased the intensity of social reform, in order to curb the labor-capital conflict-prone. The facts have indicated that these interventions are effective in promoting the resolution of labor conflicts and the steady development of the UK economy. This thesis is divided into the following three chapters:The first chapter mainly expatiates the trade union movements, the cooperative movements and the workers'political campaigns, analyzes the industrial relations in the late period of 19th century, with aim to explore the in-depth factors responsible for its relaxation in labour relations. Section I describes the influence of the trade union movement and Chartist movement in the first half of the 19th century. Although these movements have not acquired much success, but they have set the tone for the trade union movement and the cooperative movement after 1850. Sectionâ…¡describes the major achievements of the cooperative movements. The British working class has cooperated in consumption and in production, in order to make unremitting efforts to realize their own economic emancipation. Sectionâ…¢describes the major political movements of workers after 1860s. For the sake of protecting their own economic interests, the working class was aware of the importance of political power. So there was a renaissance of workers'political movements, and these movements have achieved fruitful results.The second chapter discusses the characteristics of British industrial relations during the 1850-1880. Sectionâ… describes the unionism and new models of trade unions. The workers'political enthusiasm has faded away with the decline of the Charterism. The idea of industrial unionism has met the needs of workers and begun to flourish in no time. The new models of trade unions conport a flourish visage. Sectionâ…¡describes the main developments in the employers' association. Confronting the rise of the trade union movements, employers also have made great efforts to cooperate with themsleves, which has balanced the power between employers and employees and has created a possibility for the emergence of collective bargaining. Sectionâ…¢describes the rise of collective bargaining. In the course of the industrial revolution, the close interdependence between labors and capitals has increasingly increased. Their cooperative scopes have been expanded from technical collaboration to the consultation about wages, hours and working conditions. The introduction of collective bargaining has provided stable and effective institutional design for the settlement of labor disputes.The third chapter discusses the government intervention measures in industrial relations, analyzes the historical backgrounds, contents and results of these measures, and explores the change of the British Government's attitudes and its adjustment of methods towards labor conflicts. Sectionâ… discusses the Mill's liberalism. Mill has rethinked the classical liberal laissez-faire policy and has urged the limited intervention of government in economy. This doctrine has provided a theoretical support for government intervention in indusrtrial relations. Sectionâ…¡describes mainly factory laws and industrial relations legislations. The British government has increased the efforts to mediate industrial relations by passing a series of factory laws and industrial relations legislations, which aiming to reduce working hours for factory workers and to improve production conditions. Sectionâ…¢describes the reforms in public health and education. In view of the importance of social problems such as public health and education, the British government has gradually innovated the reformation towards public health and education. All these measures have constructed a favorable social atmosphere for the harmonious development of industrial relations.The conclusion part summarizes the British industrial relations during the peorid between 1850-1880, discusses the government's role in labor relations and evaluates the Government's intervention measures. The British Government has made great efforts to realize the balance of power between employers and employees, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers and trade unions. All these measures have effectively alleviated the tensions in labor relations.