A bankrupt owner, a bad rep and a crisis of confidence – Ellesmere Port was down and very nearly out 18 months ago. But a radical flexible working deal between bosses and unions has delivered a stunning turnaround.
|
Fed up after decades in the political wilderness, a resurgent UK manufacturing sector says going it alone offers the best route to glory in 2012. Max Gosney reports on the revolutionary spirit surfacing at WM's Outlook roundtable
|
Redundancies don’t just hurt those leaving. Annie Gregory asks if it’s possible to handle job cuts without embittering the relationship with those still in the workplace
|
As trade unions become more active and media-savvy, what has happened to the notion of partnership between them and the employer? Annie Gregory investigates both the theory and the practice
|
With jobs disappearing and membership at an all-time low, what is the relationship of trade unions to manufacturing today? Annie Gregory asks those concerned – including the arbitrators – if unions are a spent force, an important safeguard for the workforce, or a new ally in the fight to hang on to our industrial base
|