Kevan Hunt: Industrial Relations Director, British Coal
Article Abstract:
Newly appointed British Coal Industrial Relations Dir Kevan Hunt comes from a family whose history is steeped in the mining industry, and was active in trade unionism, the labor movement, and local government before entering industrial relations in 1968. The year-long strike that ended in Mar 1985 transformed the industrial relations scene. Hunt has tried to restore relationships disrupted by the strike. Progress has been slow, but Hunt expresses optimism about the industry's future. Hunt's biggest hindrance is the National Union of Mineworkers, whose leadership constantly opposes him and is unwilling to compromise its positions. British Coal is pushing ahead with flexible working practices, which can help justify investment in new pits and boost output in existing mines. The numbers of pits and workers have fallen, but overall productivity has soared more than 60% and is expected to increase further.
Publication Name: Personnel Management
Subject: Human resources and labor relations
ISSN: 0031-5761
Year: 1988
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Roger Dawe: Director General, Training Commission
Article Abstract:
Newly appointed Training Commission Director General Roger Dawe is responsible for the success of the Employment Training (ET) scheme, a 1.4 billion pounds sterling program due to begin in Sep 1988. Dawe believes the program is in employers' own economic interests due to a declining supply of younger workers, increasing international competition, and rising levels of skills requirements. He says that criticisms of ET are ill-founded, and asserts that the quality of the training provided is the crucial feature. Dawe also faces the task of mollifying personnel managers who were upset by the recent Department of Employment advertising campaign that appeared to blame them for the plight of the long-term unemployed. A civil servant for more than 20 years, Dawe has served as private secretary to Prime Minister Harold Wilson and three Secretaries of State.
Publication Name: Personnel Management
Subject: Human resources and labor relations
ISSN: 0031-5761
Year: 1988
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
David Huber: personnel director, Argyll Group
Article Abstract:
Argyll Group personnel director David Huber is working to help combine Safeway and Presto stores into one of England's top food retail chains. Some 180 Presto stores are being changed into Safeways, a division which should eventually make up 80% of Argyll's retail sales. The company's commitment to personnel development is reflected in its 1988 training and development expenditure of eight million pounds sterling. Argyll has a 180-person human resources function for its 60,000-person staff, and one of Huber's priorities is to make sure his department is sensitive to the needs of line managers and to avoid providing service in a detached manner.
Publication Name: Personnel Management
Subject: Human resources and labor relations
ISSN: 0031-5761
Year: 1988
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: The Communications Aspect of the MSC Take-Over of Training in Britain. Review: A Look Around the News
- Abstracts: Europe finds its true vocation. Are the British qualified to join Europe? The business of helping the entrepreneur
- Abstracts: An ergonomics primer - Part III: industrial applications. An ergonomics primer: the automated workstation. An ergonomics primer part 1: office considerations
- Abstracts: An action plan for helping troubled employees. Strategic planning: process and plan go hand in hand
- Abstracts: Do employees have the right to smoke? A hospital cure for recruitment ills. Is your early retirement package courting disaster?