A comparative study of the British and Maltese labour movements

Abstract

A. PURPOSE. There is little published material about Malta's industrial relations. However, the Maltese labour movement deserves to be studied as it is in many ways unique in western Europe. So, in this dissertation, Malta is going to be compared with Britain because one learns the situation of a labour movement better by comparing it with that of another country. B. METHOD In the case of Britain, books and articles were mainly used since interviews were not possible. But it was. impossible to read all the published material about the British labour movement in so short a time because numerous books have been written on this subject. However, in the case of Malta, interviews with union officials and other people interested in labour relations were conducted in order to gather information besides books, union statutes, collective bargaining agreements, newspapers and legislation. C. FORMAT The dissertation starts by presenting the history of both labour movements. Then, Chapter III discusses trade union organisation, structure and philosophy whilst Chapter IV discusses wage determination and conditions of employment. D. THE SETTING Britain is the country which has influenced the Maltese labour movement most. Thus, many similarities occur between the Maltese and the British labour systems. However, differences also occur since their past histories have been very different [...].