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This paper reviews a number of studies that has examined the use of workplace innovations in the Republic of Ireland. It is argued that despite having quite different sampling and technical properties, the surveys reach similar findings on many matters – the high degree of experimentation with innovative work practices, and the piecemeal nature of workplace reform in most companies for example. Yet disagreement has occurred about how these findings should be interpreted. One view is sceptical about whether the surveys point to meaningful innovations in enterprise level employment systems in Ireland. A less pessimistic perspective suggests that the high level of experimentation occurring on new employment practices should be seen as significant as most organisations adopt an evolutionary approach to workplace reform.

This article investigates the movement of labour within the EC. In evaluating the implications of the Single European Market for free movement of labour, the author reviews several recent studies of labour migration and considers barriers to mobility, such as non‐recognition of training qualifications. The article reviews some of the reformulation of existing legislation to protect workers from discrimination and asks, “will the Community′s compensating policies be enough to redress the adverse conditions”?

Provides an overview of the issue of religious discrimination in the Northern Ireland labour market.

This paper examines the labour‐standard‐setting institution associated with NAFTA, the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC), sometimes referred to as the Labour Side Accord. The agreement is best described as a tri‐national institutional arrangement that grafts formal international procedures onto domestic labour market regimes. This feature ensures that it stands apart from the EU social policy, which is best seen as a supranational deliberative governance arrangement. The manner in which NAALC procedures have been used is documented and the main discernible pattern of action explained. The paper argues that NAALC is cumbersome and convoluted to operate. Yet it also argues that NAALC holds out interesting lessons for other regional trading blocs and other global experiments in labour market standard setting as its decentralised and “horizontal” character is more in keeping with the broad institutional design of such arrangements. The paper concludes by suggesting that NAALC will only reach its full potential when organised labour in the three participating countries adopt a more active approach to transnational collaboration inside NAFTA.

There have been a number of attempts to develop the Keynesian prescription of demand management to current neo‐liberal economic strategies. The arguments presented by the “French” regulation school and the “American” flexible specialisation scenario are examined to determine whether they are sufficiently coherent and robust to represent a new political economy model to challenge neo‐liberalism. The two models are analysed separately: the main hypotheses and points are outlined and the validity of the main criticisms against each is examined. It is concluded that neither represents a fully fledged political economy model but that some of the ideas developed by either may influence policy on a pragmatic and ad hoc basis.

In the Northern Ireland context, even though the debate about whether Catholics have experienced discrimination has raged for over two decades, there has been little attempt to relate the wide‐ranging and sophisticated USA debate to circumstances within the province. Takes the first steps to redress this shortcoming by outlining the key themes in the USA debate about unequal labour market treatment.

This paper focuses on the behaviour and character of enterprises in modern Ireland by examining the extent to which high performance employment practices are being adopted by organisations. This paper draws on the results of an establishment‐level survey of work organisation and human resource management practice in three sectors of the Irish economy. This paper has three specific objectives: measuring the extent to which high performance work practices have been adopted by enterprises in Ireland; examining whether these innovations in the practical organisation of work are being supported by new ways of managing the broader employment relationship; and analysing precisely how establishments are combining innovative work practices and supporting HRM practices to achieve coherent overall employment models. Also finds that Irish firms are experimenting widely with workplace innovation and the changes in work organisation are matched by supporting adjustments to firms' HR policies and indicates that there is no single Irish “model” of industrial relations.

EU social policy is perhaps the most controversial aspect of European integration yet, despite all the political clashes on the matter, concepts like “social Europe” or “social dimension” remain ill‐defined and imprecise terms. Intends to outline and clarify in detail the debate about whether or not the European Union should have competence with regard to labour market affairs. A key message is that social policy has been controversial because it has become embroiled in the debate about the future political direction of the EU. In particular, three contrasting political models –symbiotic integration, integrative federalism and neo‐liberalism – have been put forward as organizing principles for the EU and each has a coherent view of what form social policy should take at the European level. It is the clash between these three models that has caused EU social policy to be so contestable and intractable.

This paper builds upon work already completed by the authors on the nature of the link between internal communication and the successful implementation of change management programmes in Northern Ireland companies. During 1999 and 2000 the theoretical foundation in the requisite areas of this study was completed. Then in the latter half of 2000 and the early months of 2001 the pilot phase of the research was undertaken. The purpose of this paper is therefore to contextualise and relay the findings of the study thus far.

By the end of 1992 many of the barriers which still hinder trade between the European states will have gone. This article surveys recent developments in the European Community and economic adjustments in response to integration; summarising the other articles in this issue, which consider aspects such as the social charter, labour mobility and unemployment/employment predictions.