The ''Report of the committee of inquiry on industrial democracy'' (1977) Cmnd 6706, also the Bullock Report for short, was a report proposing for a form of worker participation or

workers' control Workers' control is participation in the management of factories and other commercial enterprises by the people who work there. It has been variously advocated by anarchists, socialists, communists, social democrats, distributists and Christ ...

, chaired by

Alan Bullock Alan Louis Charles Bullock, Baron Bullock, (13 December 1914 – 2 February 2004) was a British historian. He is best known for his book '' Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (1952), the first comprehensive biography of Adolf Hitler, which influence ...

. The idea was seen by some as a way to solve the chronic

industrial dispute Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...

s and to enhance participation of employees in their workplace.

Background

A Committee of Enquiry into Industrial Democracy was set up by the Labour government of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

in December 1975, in response to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

Draft Fifth Company Law Directive The Draft Fifth Company Law Directive (1972–2001) was a European Union proposed directive for a right of co-determination in large companies, i.e. for employees to vote for boards of directors. The draft went through several major revisions, but ...

which sought to harmonise worker participation in management of companies across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Its terms of reference started with the words,

Content

The committee, chaired by Bullock, published its report in January 1977. This report was not unanimous. The majority report was signed by Bullock and as members of the committee: three trade unionists, two academics and a city solicitor.

Majority report

The key idea was that in all boards of companies with over 2000 employees, there would be a right to have representation for workers. A company wide codetermination referendum would be held in firms with over 2000 employees, with the entire workforce voting. After approval, only union members would be able to vote for candidates to the supervisory board. Shareholders and unions would appoint x representatives each. The deadlock breaker would be an independent y appointee from the government. The Report further recommended that nondelegable board functions would be codified as the right to submit resolutions to shareholders concerning (1) winding up (2) capital structure changes (3) article alterations (4) dividends (5) disposal of substantial parts of the business. The board, not management, should have exclusive control of (1) appointment of management and (2) disposition of resources not concerning rules on capital structure and dividends. Shareholders would retain a veto power, however, over such decisions.

Minority report

The minority report, produced by the three industrialists on the committee, proposed a second tier board for workers to have input on. They recommended election of representatives to be open to nonunion members.

Reception

The report was received with trepidation but not rejecting the principles laid down. In a publication of the City Company Law Committee, ''A reply to Bullock'', the authors said,

The more people are able to influence decisions which closely affect their work the more effective will that involvement be; the more effective the involvement the greater the commitment to the company’s objectives which, in the final analysis, will be concerned with generating wealth or services for the community as a whole.

Nevertheless, they did not want direct participation because they viewed shareholders to be the "owners" of companies.

the fundamental basis of the joint stock company system... sa system based on the concept that the ultimate authority and control over a company rests with those who provide the capital (i.e. the shareholders) in general meeting. It is they who, at the outset, come together to incorporate the company as a legal entity and it is they who by the contract of incorporation embodied in the company’s original constitution agree between themselves what the company’s business and objects shall be and in what way the company shall be organised and managed.City Company Law Committee, ''A Reply to Bullock'' (1977) 4

There was also strong opposition to the report from many who might have been expected to support it, including the

Institute for Workers' Control The Institute for Workers' Control was founded in 1968 by Tony Topham and Ken Coates, the latter then a leader of the International Marxist Group and subsequently professor at the University of Nottingham and a member of the European Parliament fro ...

Notes

References

*E Batstone, A Ferner and M Terry, Unions on the board: an experiment in industrial democracy (1983) *P Brannen, ‘Worker directors: an approach to analysis. The case of the British Steel Corporation’ in C Crouch and FA Heller, ''Organizational Democracy and Political Processes'' (Wiley 1983) *

PL Davies Paul Lyndon Davies QC, FBA (born 24 September 1944) is Allen & Overy Professor of Corporate Law Emeritus at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford and Emeritus Professor of Law at the London School of Economics, whe ...

Lord Wedderburn Kenneth William Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton, (13 April 1927 – 9 March 2012) was a British politician and member of the House of Lords, affiliated with the Labour Party. He briefly became a crossbench member, citing his dis ...

,
The Land of Industrial Democracy
(1977) 6(1)

Industrial Law Journal {{italic title The ''Industrial Law Journal'' is a legal journal which publishes articles in the field of labour and employment law, published quarterly by the Industrial Law Society in the United Kingdom, and founded in 1971. The journal publi ...

197-211 *C Jenkins and B Sherman, ''Collective bargaining'' (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul 1977) . *E McGaughey, 'Votes at Work in Britain: Shareholder Monopolisation and the ‘Single Channel’' (2018
47(1) Industrial Law Journal 76
*

, ‘Companies and employees: common law or social dimension’ (1993) 109 Law Quarterly Review 261

External links

*''Report of the Commission on Industrial Democracy'' (London, HMSO, 1977)
The Bullock Report 35 years on
{{UK labour statutes United Kingdom company law United Kingdom labour law 1977 in the United Kingdom Reports of the United Kingdom government 1977 in labor relations