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No steel, no TV, and no burgers: How industrial action in a single company threatened to bring British economy to a standstill

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  • Banken Ralf

    (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Historisches Seminar/Wirtschafts- u. Sozialgeschic, Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland)

  • Stokes Ray

    (University of Glasgow, Centre for Business History in Scotland, Glasgow , Großbritannien)

Abstract

Because of its centrality to all other industries, combined with its high levels of capital-intensity in its production and distribution networks which hinder market entry for competitors, the industrial gases industry - which produces gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and acetylene - is of central importance to the industrial economy. The same characteristics make it simultaneously highly vulnerable to disruption. This article considers the causes, course, and consequences of industrial action at British Oxygen Company (BOC) in 1977, followed by threats of industrial action in the following two years. The company′s actions are considered in the context of the political and economic climate of the period.

Suggested Citation

  • Banken Ralf & Stokes Ray, 2009. "No steel, no TV, and no burgers: How industrial action in a single company threatened to bring British economy to a standstill," Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, De Gruyter, vol. 50(2), pages 219-230, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:jbwige:v:50:y:2009:i:2:p:219-230:n:11
    DOI: 10.1524/jbwg.2009.0023
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