The Scott Bader‐Synthetic Resins Saga

Established ideas of British workers cannot be altered simply by presenting them with the facts about co‐operatives, particularly when some of these facts appear to strip away hard‐earned privileges. The suggestion that co‐operative formation should only be pursued when there is a suitable workforce is one solution, though this is to guarantee that co‐operatives will never grow into a sizeable sector of our economy. The case of the Scott Bader takeover of Synthetic Resins Limited in Liverpool (1982) illustrates clearly a clash between the co‐operative ideal and the conventionally managed, traditionally unionised British norm. The confrontation of trade unions and co‐operatives in such circumstances, in the absence of guidelines, will see ensuing conflict; positive results from such conflict are unlikely as both sides will be talking a different language.