OPTING OUT OF PAY DEVOLUTION - THE PROSPECTS FOR LOCAL PAY BARGAININGIN UK PUBLIC-SERVICES

Throughout the 1980s, government ministers strongly advocated the dece ntralization of pay determination in the public services. Despite this exhortation, by the end of the decade rates of pay and salary structu res were rarely determined at workplace level. This paper explores the resilience of national pay determination and considers whether it wil l survive the radical restructuring of public services initiated in th e last few years. The analysis focuses mainly on the health and educat ion services, arguing that distinctive organizational, occupational an d political characteristics of the services still constrain the devolu tion of pay bargaining. In the face of tight budgets and the recent in troduction of pay restraint, service managers have sought to make payb ill savings through unilateral changes in work organization rather tha n through devolved collective bargaining.