INTERNATIONAL FR AMEWORK AGREEMENTS AND THE FUTURE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

Abstract

This article emphasizes the contribution of International FrameworkAgreements (IFAs) to collective bargaining within multinational companies(MNC). For this purpose, we used various data, including content analysis of 42IFAs and interviews with representatives of the five Global Union Federations(GUFs) involved in the negotiation of these IFAs, in order to assess the contentand efficiency of these agreements. Our analysis reveals that IFAs usuallyinclude a commitment by the signatory MNC to conform to ILO’s coreconventions in all its operations, and toinform its business partners of theirobligations under the agreement. Regular meetings are held with unions’representatives for the monitoring of these agreements to ensure their respect bythe signatory multinational companies andtheir business partners. According toGUFs’ representatives, the IFAs have been effective in protecting basic tradeunion rights covered by ILO conventions 87 and 98. In the last part, weemphasize the IFAs’ contribution to collective bargaining within MNCs anddiscuss the prospects for future development of international collectivebargaining, particularly in light of Levinson’s seminal work (1972) on thissubject.