Trade Unions And Politics In The 1980s The 1984 Act And Political Funds Derek Fatchett by Derek Fatchett 9781032378206, 1032378204 instant download after payment.

Writing in the mid-1970s, Clarke claimed that the trade unions remain the most maligned organisations in society. If the mass media are to be believed, then trade unions are responsible single-handedly for the disruption of industry,the decline of the economy, and the undermining of the social rights and privileges that traditionally have held together thedelicate fabric of society. Implicit in such lurid descriptions is the belief that the trade union movement has attained a position of unassailable power which threatens the foundation of democracy; governments, it is sometimes even asserted,are mere playthings in the hands of the big battalions of the unions. The perceptions which Clarke discussed can be analysed at two levels: firstly, against certain objective criteria, to determine whether they may be true; and,secondly, in relation to the ability of those perceptions to shape and to mould a broader agenda.