Fiscal policy, public sector management and the 1989 health sector strike

Abstract

This paper argues that the 1989 health sector strike grew out of the combined effects of the Labour Government's fiscal policies and its new approach to public sector management. These policies gave rise to a new and not well understood political and industrial environment which held unexpected hazards for all parties. The course and outcomes of the dispute were not under the control of any party, all of whom learnt, as they went along, what the new industrial and political environment held for them.