Government Exhortation and Collective Bargaining: Why the Priorities of Employers and Government Differ Available to Purchase

Although governments see high pay settlements as inflationary and claim they make British products uncompetitive, employers consistently give pay increases above the level of cost of living increases. Weakened unions and high unemployment have not changed the trend, demonstrating that simplistic“causes” are based on little more than myth. Geographical and skill imbalances mean labour shortages still exist. Employers, whose concern is with total costs and returns, also need to buy co‐operation with change and sometimes use the savings of automation to do so.