The right to strike

From the Trade Disputes Act 1906 to a Trade Union Freedom Bill 2006

K D Ewing (ed), Institute of Employment Rights, 310 pages, £15.00 - but £10.00 for Labour Research readers if they mention this review.

In 1900, 1,227 workers at the Taff Vale Railway Company went on strike. The dispute became significant in trade union history because the House of Lords ruled the union could be held liable for the company's losses.

The Trade Disputes Act 1906 was passed to reverse this decision, giving unions the freedom to strike with immunity from liability.

Unfortunately the right of unions and their members to strike is more limited now than it was then, as was painfully illustrated in the Gate Gourmet dispute of 2005, with the sacking of 813 workers.

This book provides an illuminating analysis of key disputes over the past century. The absorbing collection of essays explains how governments, and judges, have restricted the rights of unions to take strike action - and why we need the Trade Union Freedom Bill.