"...Tells how the system originated and describes how it has subsequently developed or changed in response to changing economic, political, and social circumstances ... But it is much more than than an accurate account of legislation, general orders, standard wage pronouncements, and important policy developments. It is also a study of the interaction between the system and the changing times through which it has passed and an answer to the question which Mr Woods puts forward in his introduction " Why has New Zealand developed a system so different from the general pattern in industrial relations machinery in most other countries?" -- Inside front cover.