Hi Norman and Joseph thank you for your replies. I am not really familiar with labour/trade union history, just memories from childhood really, of the strikes and newspaper headlines etc but from a quick google this morning I see that union intransigence over flexibility alone did not lead to the demise of the shipyards (though the press at the time emphasised this). An article I read this morning (hunting for that word) mentioned other factors at play. Countries like Japan were ahead of us with ship construction innovations and in a position to demand fewer employment protections from their workforces which enabled them to produce ships at a much lower price. Thinking about it over the years some governments abroad have been better placed or more ideologically disposed to supporting struggling industries than our governments. Going back to my question it is annoying that I can't recall this word that was a buzzword at the time for lack of flexibility in working practices.