History & policy database

Trade Union and Employment Forum

This Forum brings together academics, trade unionists, employers and the media to examine the historic context of trade union and labour policies and identify lessons that can be learnt for today and the future.  The Forum also marks key events that have shaped the workplace and business world such as the 1984 Miners’ Strike, the Health and Safety Act, the introduction of employment tribunals and the anniversary of the 1926 General Strike.

Regular seminars and conferences bring together interested parties and provide the opportunity to hear from key players and experts in a wide range of topical employment issues. From time to time the forum also produces opinion pieces to be found on this website.

The Forum is part of the History and Policy Group based in the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London, connecting historians, policy makers and the media.

  • Trade Unions and the European Union

    Ahead of the UK’s referendum on continued membership of the European Union, the Trade Union Forum held an event to explore the roles that Trade Unions have had in shaping the public debate on EU policies, reflect upon the roles the Unions played in the 1975 referendum, and offer suggestions for Trade Union engagement in…

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  • The Oxford School of Industrial Relations: the 1965 Donovan Commission and some historical lessons

    On Saturday 24 October 2015 around 70 Industrial Relations academics, Historians, Trade Unionists and Managers gathered for a day conference at Nuffield College, Oxford to reflect on 50 years of Industrial Relations academic research and public policy.

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  • Reflections on the The Miners Strike 30 Years On

  • Whatever happened to collective bargaining?

    Roger Jeary and Jim Moher report on the Trade Union Forum’s 28 March 2015 meeting, which fetaured Tony Burke of UNITE, Ray Ellis of CWU and Professor Melanie Simms of Leicester University. 

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  • Unions and the Great War

    H&P's Trade Union Forum explored the unions during the First World War at its 15 November 2014 meeting. Professor Jerry White, of Birkbeck, University of London, spoke about London's trade unions, and Dr Deborah Thom, of Robinson College, Cambridge, talked about women, socialism, unionism and protest.

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Trade Union and Employment Forum Links

About Us

H&P is based at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London.

We are the only project in the UK providing access to an international network of more than 500 historians with a broad range of expertise. H&P offers a range of resources for historians, policy makers and journalists.

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