New Labour
In 1997 the new Labour government brought the UK into the EU's Social Chapter, which has served as the source for most reform in UK law since that time. Domestic led reform was minimal. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 established a country-wide minimum wage, but did not attempt to reinvigorate the Wage Board system. The Employment Relations Act 1999 introduced a 60 page procedure requiring employers to compulsorily recognise and bargain with a union, though union membership remained at a steady 30 per cent level. While the UK retains essentially the same legal framework as evolved through the 1980s, globalisation, Europeanisation and increased success in workplace participation models ensure further change will follow.
Read more about this topic: History Of Labour Law In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the word labour:
“They shift coffee-houses and chocolate-houses from hour to hour, to get over the insupportable labour of doing nothing.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“I know that the right kind of leader for the Labour Party is a kind of desiccated calculating machine.”
—Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960)