The Fairfield experiment was an experiment in industrial relations carried out at the

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, during the 1960s. The experiment was initiated by Sir

Iain Maxwell Stewart Sir Iain Maxwell Stewart (1916–1985) LLD (Strathclyde), BSc, MINA, MINE, MIMEch.E was a Scottish industrialist with a strong interest in modernising industrial relations. Background Stewart was a son of William Maxwell Stewart (1874–192 ...

, industrialist, chairman of Thermotank Ltd, and signatory to the Marlow Declaration of the early 1960s, and supported by

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

, the

First Secretary First Secretary may refer to: * First minister, a leader of a government * Secretary (title), a leader of a political party (especially Communist parties), trade union, or other organization * First Secretary (diplomatic rank), a role within an emba ...

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 ...

's cabinet, in 1966.Whatever Happened at Fairfields?, by Sydney Paulden and Bill Hawkins, published by Gower Press, 1969. The company was facing closure, and Brown agreed to provide £1 million (£13,135,456.90 in 2021 terms) to enable the

Trade Unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, the management, and the shareholders to try out new ways of

industrial management In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perfe ...

''The Bowler and the Bunnet''

The Bowler and the Bunnet ''The Bowler and the Bunnet'' was a Scottish television documentary programme on STV (TV channel), STV, directed and presented by Sean Connery. It is the only film ever directed by Connery. The documentary, filmed in black and white, was a crit ...

'' was a film directed by

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

and written by

Cliff Hanley Clifford Leonard Clark "Cliff" Hanley (28 October 1922 – 9 August 1999) was a journalist, novelist, playwright and broadcaster from Glasgow in Scotland. Originally from Shettleston in the city's East End, he was educated at Eastbank Acad ...

about the Fairfield Experiment.

References

Operations research Govan Shipbuilding Industry in Scotland {{labor-stub