Processes in the Reform of Industrial Relations

In the case histories it often seemed that solutions to growing conflict between management and labour only came to be considered and seriously discussed when, for a variety of reasons, the conflict escalated into a crisis. The parties were forced to take action jointly by the extremity of the circumstances in which they were now caught. Kochan and Dyer have hypothesised that ‘unions and employers will only be stimulated to initiate a search to embark on joint change efforts when under great pressure to do so, i.e. when a felt hurt is experienced’ (1976: 64). This hypothesis has been strongly confirmed by this research, but why might this be so and what brings about the ‘felt hurt’ or the pressure to change?