A case study is used to argue that the macro labour market consists of non-competitive work groups with marked differences between groups suggesting separate work cultures. These differences present a barrier to simplistic free market policies of deregulation and labour market flexibility. In addition it is argued that these differences illustrate the importance of non-economic forces (such as institutional, social, historical and political pressures) in shaping the macro labour market. It is further argued that qualitative case study approach is necessary to isolate and interpret the processes of interaction between these forces.