The Royal Commission on Trade Unions and Employers' Associations (also known as the Donovan Commission) was an inquiry into the system of collective

UK labour law United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity (legal concept), equity. ...

, chaired by Lord Donovan and heavily influenced by the opinions of Hugh Clegg. Its report, known as the "Donovan Report", was issued in 1968 (Cmnd 3623).

Overview

The Commission originally was inclined to recommend legal constraints on unions, (as presaged by

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from 1945 United Kingdom general elec ...

White paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

, '' In Place of Strife''), in order to back up governmental prices and incomes policy. However Clegg, by threatening to issue a minority report, persuaded it instead to back improved

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

. The recommendations of the Commission on dismissal procedures were embodied in the Industrial Relations Act 1971. Exclusive jurisdiction to hear complaints and give remedies was conferred upon the newly created National Industrial Relations Court. The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 soon replaced the unfair dismissal provisions, as was the National Industrial Relations Court with a system of Industrial Tribunals, since renamed Employment Tribunals. These have one legally qualified chairperson and two lay members, one representing unions and the other representing employers. The present law on unfair dismissal is found in the

Employment Rights Act 1996 The Employment Rights Act 1996 (c. 18) is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament passed by the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government to codify existing law on individual rights in UK labour law. Histo ...

Report chapters

#Introduction #The Subject Matter of Our Report #The System of Industrial Relations #The Reform of Collective Bargaining #The Extension of Collective Bargaining #The Efficient Use of Manpower #Strikes and Other Industrial Action #The Enforcement of Collective Agreements #Safeguards of Employees Against Unfair Dismissal #Labour Tribunals #Safeguards for Individuals in Relation to Trade Unions #Trade Unions #Employers' Associations #Changes in the Law #Workers' Participation in Management #Summary of the Main Conclusions and Recommendations

Overview

Report chapters

See also

References

Further reading