Airline pilots have made determined use of industrial action. This challenges the view that militant trade unionism is confined to lower-paid workers and the left-wing. This phenomenon provides the author with an opportunity for singling out the basic factors underlying attitudes and behaviour in industrial relations.

Airline pilots in various countries around the world have made determined use of industrial action. The use of strike action by the pilots challenges the view that militant trade unionism is confined to lower-paid workers and is associated with a left-wing political orientation. This phenomenon provides the author with an opportunity for singling out the basic factors underlying attitudes and behaviour in industrial relations. His starting point is a 'systems model' of industrial relations which is submitted to critical examination and refined, enhancing its usefulness as a research methodology. In particular he stresses the importance of personality elements in the parties to the disputes. The book, first published in 1972, also provides an analysis of the development of the airlines and their institutions.

Part 1. Introduction 1. Industrial Relations Problems 2. Theoretical Framework 3. Setting to the Study Part 2. Organizational Characteristics of the Parties 4. The Pilots' Organizations 5. The Employers 6. Machinery for Industrial Regulation Part 3. The Environmental Contexts 7. The Technical Context 8. The Status Context 9. The Economic Context Part 4. Evolution of the System 10. Remuneration 11. Scheduling 12. Development of Industrial Relations 13. Conclusions