Labour Law, the Cold War, and the Right to Strike: A Legal and Political History of Order 1305

This book examines the origins, deployment, and legacy of Order 1305, a measure introduced in 1940 to make it a criminal offence to take part in a strike. Surprisingly, the prohibition on the right to strike was retained by the Attlee administration after the Second World War, and was transformed to become a weapon of government during the Cold War to deal with what were wrongly claimed by ministers to be Communist-inspired strikes engineered for subversive purposes. In a deep analysis of Order 1305, the authors provide a reassessment of the role of the State in industrial relations. Challenging much contemporary learning in labour law, the book is informed by a very detailed engagement with Cabinet and ministerial papers, which highlight the contradictions on the part of government in simultaneously promoting and containing trade union power. These sources also highlight the extent to which trade unions both relied on and were co-opted by the State. The main focus of the book, however, is the role of Order 1305 in the control of trade union activists, with the continuing presence of the criminal law and allegations of communist inspired strikes ensuring an important role for MI5 and Special Branch in post-war industrial relations. Material unearthed at the National Archives demonstrates unequivocally not only that trade unions were deeply penetrated, but also that trade union activists were the subject of extensive surveillance, as the authors fully reveal.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction Part II: Order 1305 in War-Time 2. Order 1305 and the Right to Strike: England and Wales 3. Order 1305 and the Right to Strike: Scotland and Northern Ireland Part III: Retention of Order 1305: The Labour Government after the War 4. Creating the Legal Framework: Retention of Order 1305 5. Containing Trade Union Power: Collective Bargaining and the Wage Restraint Bargain 6. Controlling Trade Union Activists: MI5 and Special Branch Part IV: Revival of Order 1305: Unofficial Action as Economic and Political Subversion 7. The Re-Emergence of Order 1305 8. Preparing for Prosecution: Surveillance and Co-ordination 9. London Gas Workers: An Unexpected Prosecution 10. Prosecution Over-reached: The Gas Workers' Appeal Part V: Revocation of Order 1305: Victory for the Port Workers' Committee 11. Order 1305 and the Cabinet: Legal and Political Pressures 12. The Cabinet Review of Order 1305: Irreconcilable Ministerial Tensions 13. Prosecuting the Port Workers' Committee: The Trial Collapses 14. Revocation and Legacy of Order 1305 Part VI: Conclusion 15. Conclusion

About the Author :
KD Ewing is Professor of Public Law at King's College London, UK. Andrew Moretta is Postdoctoral Researcher at Queen Mary University of London, UK.