THERE was a time when strikes were won or lost on the picket line, when either managements or workers were brought to their knees by sheer force and will power. The rows took place in private in conciliation conferences. Not any more.
Public opinion is now as important as the picket lines, which have become little more than a photo-opportunity for the media. Public relations people have become as important as the union officials when it comes to conducting disputes.
As nurses and management face each other, two PR people are also planning opposing strategies. For the nurses there is Pat Montague, whose other clients include the Independent Radio and Television Commission and a number of trade unions. He also worked with the unions on the Dunnes Stores dispute.
On the other side is Frank Dunlop, former government press secretary, veteran of many disputes and specialist in management damage limitation.
The nurses started out with a large amount of goodwill. They are "angels", latter-day Florence Nightingales, committed to serving the sick and the dying. This much is evident already in the tabloid newspaper coverage.
Since the nurses voted for strike action on January 10th, it has been evident that Mr Montague has been placing stories in the media concerning the nurses. When one looks, however, at the advertising in newspapers it is not that soft image he is trying to get across, but of a professional body of people who have now got a sense of their own value, which society does not share, at least in terms of monetary reward. Many of the stories have been personalised, and that worked well for the Dunnes workers.
The purpose of this strategy has been to ensure that once Monday came the support was not just based on an angel-of-mercy image that might crack the first time the nurses show a different side by going on strike.
In the past week or so, there has been a gear change, with emphasis on the mechanics of industrial relations. As the interest moved from the frustration of nurses to the Labour Court the public has remained behind the nurses. Mr Montague's success rests now on how well the public absorbed the message last week.
Mr Dunlop's strategy is very different He cannot attack the nurses. He hopes that there will be a rethink among the public as the full extent of the strike hits home.
His strategy will concentrate on industrial relations, and on industrial relations journalists and as far away from caring nurses as possible. On the nurses' side the issues are confused and there is little doubt that there is some distance between them and their leadership. That will be exploited to the full, as will the general secretary of the INO, Mr P.J. Madden. If you cannot attack the nurses you can attack the leadership of their union.
Mr Dunlop's advice will be that journalists should be prompted to ask the nurses what will end the dispute and whether they will go back to work as soon as there is something the union leadership can recommend.
Public opinion can make or break a dispute. One has only to remember the TEAM Aer Lingus dispute and the decision to block roads. Once the public was inconvenienced, the Government knew it need not worry too much about the workers' case.
In an era of social partnership and mass media, industrial disputes become highly political events and politicians' response is almost invariably based on public opinion.
That is what is being mobilised when you are asked as you drive to work to "honk if you support the nurses".