Holst and Company, a member of the Northwest Holst Group, has introduced flexible working hours for all its staff at its head office. It claims to be the first UK construction company to do this.The three-month trial period is being conducted with the approval of the overwhelming majority of the head offices. All 150 employees must be at their job during the“core time" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.，less a one-hour lunch break. They may choose arrival and departure times from 8 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. 150 hours have to be put in over each four-week period. Credit or debit time of up to 7 and 1/2 hours may be carried forward to the next four-week period. Hengstler Flextime recording equipment is being used for the trial. The managing director of Holst , Mr. Colin Cashmore , commented,“This is an exercise in responsibility. We regard our staff as very responsible people and it is only on this basis that the flexible working hours system can succeed.”He emphasized that if after the trial a majority of the staff was opposed lo the system, it would not be continued. If, on the other hand，it proved successful, the company would consider extending flextime to its other offices throughout the country. If all the staff of Holst and Company were not responsible , the flexible working hours system could not succeed.

Holst and Company, a member of the Northwest Holst Group, has introduced flexible working hours for all its staff at its head office. It claims to be the first UK construction company to do this.The three-month trial period is being conducted with the approval of the overwhelming majority of the head offices. All 150 employees must be at their job during the“core time" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.，less a one-hour lunch break. They may choose arrival and departure times from 8 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. 150 hours have to be put in over each four-week period. Credit or debit time of up to 7 and 1/2 hours may be carried forward to the next four-week period. Hengstler Flextime recording equipment is being used for the trial. The managing director of Holst , Mr. Colin Cashmore , commented,“This is an exercise in responsibility. We regard our staff as very responsible people and it is only on this basis that the flexible working hours system can succeed.”He emphasized that if after the trial a majority of the staff was opposed lo the system, it would not be continued. If, on the other hand，it proved successful, the company would consider extending flextime to its other offices throughout the country. Holst and Company has decided to carry out the flexible working hours system even if the majority of the staff is opposed to it.

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US policy on Trade

But some economists stressed the risks that a more aggressive US policy poses.C. Fred Bergsten,director of the Institute for International Economists and a prominent member of the free-trade establishment , said he saw little evidence for a strategy ，except for"a willingness to listen to protectionist appeals" from the automobile，semi-conductor, steel and energy industries，among others , and a desire to mollify these industries ’powerful congressional protectors.

An insistence that Europe and Japan create a “level playing field” for trade by agreeing to give US exporters the same access to their markets as foreign companies receive in the United States. This push to expand US manufacturing exports is considered politically essential to fulfill President Bill Clinton' s campaign promise of more“high-wage, high-skill" jobs for Americans. A willingness to impose sanctions on major trading partners to reduce trade barriers abroad, with less patience for drawn-out negotiations. Administration officials see little risk that this more aggressive policy could escalate into a full-fledged trade war that would shock the world' s fragile economies.Thus , the administration will not be deterred by complaints that it has moved to“protectionism”. What is the meaning of a“level playing field”for trade?