ABSTRACT
For a definition of industrial relations (IR) we have used the Dunlop concept, which provides us with suitable approaches from which to tackle the question of the “ecological opening up of industrial relations”. Dunlop’s IR contains abstractions in the form of actors in the system, the contexts of the system, and the ideology of the system, which combine to establish rules to govern the actors at the workplace and in the work community. The dependent variables are the rules. The critical independent variables are the contexts of the systems, which can change, and the ideology of the system, which is the combination of the ideologies of each of the actors. The combination of ideologies may be stable or unstable. “What is to be determined are two dependent variables: the process for resolving differences over the terms and conditions of employment (general rules); and the specific terms and conditions of employment (substantive rules) in individual organisations, in industries, for an entire economy and even for a number of different countries.” (Meltz 1991, pp. 11, 13)
