ABSTRACT
As was noted in the first chapter of this book the activities of government form part of the backdrop to, or national context of, the employment relationship and thereby employee relations. We also pointed up the relevance of ideology or belief to the process through which governments determine the kind of society that they perceive to be desirable, this encompasses their views as to:
• the appropriate locus and distribution of power within society and between different interest groups and sectors of society
• their economic, social, industrial and environmental objectives • their willingness to intervene • their willingness to enter into a political exchange with the other actors, • the policies that they pursue in these areas.
