In Place of Strife (Cmnd 3888) was aUK Governmentwhite paper written in 1969.[1] It was a proposed act to use the law to reduce the power oftrade unions in the United Kingdom, but was never passed into law.[1] The title of the paper was a reworking of the title ofNye Bevan's bookIn Place of Fear.
It was proposed by theSecretary of State for Employment and Productivity,Barbara Castle.[1] Amongst its numerous proposals were plans to force unions to call aballot before astrike was held and establishment of an Industrial Board to enforce settlements in industrial disputes. TheLabourCabinet of thePrime Minister,Harold Wilson, was divided over the issue.[1] The proposals had been drafted in secret by Wilson and Castle.[2] Divisions quickly appeared within the Cabinet when the proposals were presented, with the opposition led by Home SecretaryJames Callaghan.[2] A settlement was eventually reached with theTrades Union Congress whereby the proposals were dropped.[1]
Although the paper itself never resulted in legislation, it was influential in the drafting of theTrade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 ("TULRA"). TULRA, which subsequently became theTrade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, had repealedRobert Carr's controversialIndustrial Relations Act 1971. The white paper's requirement that strike action could only take place after a trade union ballot would later become a key component of TULRA.
A copy of the paper may be downloaded from theNational Archives.[3]
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