British trade unions since 1933

Chris Wrigley, Cambridge University Press, paperback, 106 pages, £9.95

In 1933, the number of people belonging to a trade union was 4,350,000. Throughout the war it expanded greatly, and continued to do so after it, reacting its peak in 1980 at 12,239,000.

The author points out that the number of workers involved in strikes in that period was also on the rise and hit a peak in 1979 of 4,608,000.

The book examines the legislation affecting unions and workers' pay and conditions in that period, including the cuts in union rights brought in by the Heath government in 1971 and their subsequent restoration by the ensuing Labour government, including the 1975 Employment Protection Act.

The book then proceeds through the era of anti-union laws brought in by the Tory government from 1979 to 1997, and the actions of the present Labour government, under Tony Blair, in granting unions recognition rights under the 1999 Employment Relations Act and passing the National Minimum Wage Act.