Video: Industrial relations training programme
Publisher: Pukka Films
Price: £1,299 plus VAT or rented from £195 plus VAT
Available on DVD or as an E-Learning resource

Most managers have never experienced industrial action, so there’s potentially a wide market for this training video, which is aimed at junior or middle managers in local establishments who may need to respond to industrial action and who want to be aware of the likely challenges.

For them this video offers advice on the law as it applies, for example, to picketing, and on many of the practical, nuts-and-bolts issues likely to be involved in managing relations with strikers, non-strikers and workplace representatives.

It doesn’t pull any punches, emphasising that managing the human impact of industrial action can be stressful, sometimes involving “in-your-face” confrontation, and managers may have to take some tough decisions.

The story line is straightforward. Vik is a middle manager informed by his boss that a strike is due to start on Monday (we might have expected he would get more warning). The strike call divides the workforce, and relationships between colleagues become strained. Pickets appear at the front door and the dispute begins to get ugly as Colin, the union representative, has difficulty keeping control.

Interspersed between lively snapshots of successive stages in the dispute are comments from academic and HR experts in industrial relations. Professor John Purcell of the Industrial Relations Research Unit at Warwick offers useful advice on practical issues such as ensuring that only the right people are on the picket line, supporting employees who are not on strike and communicating with the media.

Some key messages emerge from the script: “be professional - it’s not personal”; “avoid being inflammatory”; “it’s tough but it’s your job”. There are discussions about when to apply the rules and when to use discretion – for example if a picket is injured and needs medical attention. The screenplay is noticeably even-handed between management and union and some of the best lines are put in the mouth of the union representative.

The finale, with employees who went on strike playing football with those who didn’t, suggests that once the conflict is over managers should focus on the future. This “forgive and forget” scenario is much to be wished but feels a bit of a long shot given the bitterness of the dispute.

If you want a comprehensive guide to the law on industrial action, this video is not the place to start: it has nothing to say about strike ballots, for example. Nor does it discuss how to conduct negotiations with trade unions or how to avoid getting into an industrial dispute in the first place. It’s essentially a dramatic representation of the pressures industrial action can put on all those involved, not least in front-line management, and it gets this message across quite effectively.


Mike Emmott is A CIPD policy adviser

Find out more: www.industrialactiontraining.co.uk