e encouraged to 'contract out' their responsibility for services to commercial organizations. privatization of services which western people now regard as essential has necessitated the creation of various public 'watchdog' organizations with regulatory powers over the industries which they monitor. For example, Offtel monitors the activities of the privatized telephone industry, and OffWat monitors the privatized water companies. decline of the unionsthe 1980s the British government passed several laws to restrict the power of the unions. One of these abolished the 'closed shop' (arrangement which employers made with unions to hire only people who belonged to a union). Another made strikes illegal unless a postal vote of all union members had been conducted. In 1984 there was a long miners 'strike. The National Union of Miners refused to follow the new regulations. Its leader, Arthur Scargill, became a symbol (depending on your point of view) of either all the worst lunacies of unionism or the brave fight of the working classes against the rise of Thatcherism. Previous miners 'strikes in the twentieth century had been mostly successful. But this one was not (the miners dad not achieve their aims); a sign of the decline in union power. Industry is Organisedsome sectors a small number of large companies and their subsidiaries are responsible for a substantial proportion of total production, notably in the vehicle, aerospace and transport equipment industries. About 250 British industrial companies each have an annual turnover of more than? 500 million. The annual turnover of the biggest company, British Petroleum (BP), makes it the 11 th largest industrial grouping in the world and the second largest in Europe. Five British firms are among the top 20 European Union (EU) companies in terms of capital employed. accounted for 22 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1993 and for about the same percentage of employment. About 82 per cent of visible exports consisted of manufactured or semi-manufactured goods. Virtually all manufacturing is carried out by private-sector businesses. Total capital investment in manufacturing was? 12,165 million in 1993, comprising? 10,146 million in plant and machinery,? 1,253 million in new building work and? 766 million in vehicles. construction industry contributed 5 per cent of GDP and employment about 1.2 million people in 1993, 4 per cent of the total number of employees. Total domestic fixed capital investment in construction was? 812 million. in Action's chemical industry is the third largest in Europe. The nation's fourth biggest manufacturing industry, it provides direct employment for 303,000 people. Around a half of its output is exported, making it Britain's greatest single export earner; exports in 1993 were worth? 17,300 million. major chemical companies in Britain are multinationals; several are subsidiaries of overseas companies and others are specialist manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, such as Glaxo and Wellcome. Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) is the sixth largest chemical company in the world, with a range of 8,000 products. In 1993 ICI was demerged into two companies to form 'new' ICI, built around industrial chemicals, paints, materials and explosives, and a separate company, Zeneca, comprising ICI's pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and seeds, and specialities business. large proportion of world R & D in agrochemicals is conducted in Britain. Notable British discoveries include diquat and paraquat herbicides, pyrethroid insectisides, systemic fungicides and aphicides, genetically-engineered microbial pesticides and methods of encouraging natural parasites to eradicate common pests.British pharmaceuticals industry is one of the biggest in the world. It is the fifth largest manufacturer and fourth largest exporter of medicines. Scientific excellence underpins the success of the pharmaceuticals industry: British firms spend around? 1,500 million a year in the search for new technologies, new therapies and new ways to fight disease. In 1992 a quarter of the 20 most prescribed medicine in the world had been discovered by scientists in Britain. industry is made up of about 360 companies of all sizes. A small number of very big firms dominate production - the six largest are Glaxo, Zeneca, Wellcome, SmithKline Beecham, Boots and Fisons. The largest 21 account for 70 per cent of production and employment. Smaller firms spend less on R & D and tend to concentrate on producing generic prescription medicines and non-prescription medicines with expired patents. industry manufactures the whole range of medicines - human and veterinary medicines, medical dressings and dental materials. In the last ten years or so, the largest growth has been in medicines that act on the respiratory system, followed by cardiovasc...
