Originally published in 1964, at a time of much public unease regarding redundancy, this book contains the results of a comprehensive survey, inspired by a suggestion of the then Minister of Labour that the mass redundancies in the Midlands motor industry of 1956 merited a full-scale investigation. The findings are based on an analysis of a 1 in 10 sample of men made redundant in Birmingham in the period. Among the matters examined are the difficulties encountered in obtaining work after redundancy; the range of geographical mobility and the role played by the then employment exchanges in securing new employment. Other chapters focus on the financial hardship caused; the resort to savings and the impact of the redundancies on the gender balance in the workforce. The impact of the dismissals on trade union affiliation is also considered, as are the men’s verdicts on the ‘fairness’ of the selection procedure adopted.
1.Introduction 2. Some Background Data About the Sample 3. Unemployment and Job Difficulties After Redundancy 4. The Mechanics of Job Finding 4. Interim Employment 6. The Present Job 7. Financial and Family Adjustments 8. From Trade Unions to the ‘Inevitability’ of Redundancy 9. Conclusion. Appendices A: Numbers Registered as Unemployed, Birmingham and Midlands Region, 1956 B: Copy of Letter Sent to Men to be Interviewed C: The Questionnaire.
Biography
Hilda R. Kahn was Lecturer in Social Administration at the University of Hull, UK.
Original Review of Repercussions of Redundancy:
‘This book gives many insights into the behavior and views of factory workers unwillingly placed in a position of having to cast their social and economic lot…The results are well summarized and their implications for British industrial policy are made explicit.’ Natalie Rogoff Ramsoy, American Journal of Sociology, Vol 71, No. 3, (1965)
Repercussions of Redundancy is a highly competent piece of social survey work…This book will, I think, be much read in years to come by students of our period of economic and social history when we were learning civilised ways of running our economic affairs.’ T. Lupton, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Vol 128, Issue 4 (1965).
