While the strike as such cannot be eliminated in a democratically oriented country much can be done to shorten its duration and to minimize its impact on the community without encroaching on basic human rights and individual freedoms The rapid industrialization now taking place in the Pacific Asian countries brings with it the serious problems of industrial relations Realizing that the success and speed of the industrialization process will depend on the extent to which sound industrial relations stems are established in these countries the East West Center in 1962 sponsored an important conference on the subject This conference became the source of much that is contained in the present volume