Why ideology dominates regional trade unionism in the Asia Pacific

This article asserts that the sub-global regional ‘context’ in which trade unions operate presupposes the rypes of ‘imperatives’ that will dominate their existence and activities. These are taken to operate along one of three dimensions – industrial, political and ideological – and are seen as evolving in accordance with the ‘logic of spill-over’ in regional integration processes. Using this interpretation, the discussion contrasts the experience of regional trade unions operating within the European Union to account for why regional trade unions operating in the Asia Pacific are primarily confined to promoting a particular vision of trade unions in sociery.