August is often a hotspot for industrial action, and this year was no exception. Whether it was the baggage handlers at Stansted and Gatwick airports, contractors working for London Underground and Eurostar, or council workers in Scotland, strikes – or the threat of them – never seemed far away.

It was a far cry from the early years of the Labour government, when it looked as if traditional confrontational industrial relations were about to make way for a new paradigm of partnership, consultation and individual, flexible employee relations. Now the fall in trade union membership seems to have ceased and, far from diminishing in influence, leaders of the biggest unions appear to wield as much power and have a higher profile than ever.