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The view that labour market flexibility will lead to benefits for everyone is far obvious. This paper analyses changes in retailing over the last decades. It finds that much flexibility has been achieved in the industry. Recent legislative changes have played an important role in these changes. Processes of deskilling, casualization, juuenalization and feminization are being intensified. The effects the quality of working life for retail workers are examined. It is found that retail workers are having to pay a high price for the flexibilities achieved by their employers.

The Republic of Ireland and New Zealand are alike in many respects. They have similar-sized populations and similar climates; agriculture has an unusual prominence in their national economies and industrial development is strongly encouraged. In addition, both were once British colonies and have similar legal and political systems with English as their majority language. Despite these, and many other similarities, the two countries have markedly different industrial relations systems. In contrast to New Zealand's state-regulated system, the Irish system is notably voluntaristic, multi-unionism is the norm and Irish unions compete for membership with British-based unions. There are many other differences and this paper highlights the main aspects of the Irish system, covering the collective bargaining system, the union and employer organisations, legislation, Ireland's experience with national pay agreements, participation in management, picketing policy, union restructuring and public sector industrial relations.

This abstract reports a follow-up of an earlier survey of the ability of managers and trade union officers to predict workers' preferences. It was found that even when economic and social conditions change a good deal, and despite changes in individuals' preferences, the 'average union members' ' preferences for pay and fringe benefits remain remarkably constant. This being the case, the results of the earlier survey would have been an excellent source of information about workers' preferences. However the managers and union officers were unable to assess workers current preferences and the majority of persons who had predicted preferences in both surveys performed more badly in the second, most overestimating the limited changes in preferences which had occurred. It was concluded that those who work closest to the ordinary worker are less capable of deciphering the confusing array of information which they receive about him.