Transnational regulation of decent work through Global Framework Agreements: a collective instrument of worker voice

Michael Fichter

Chapter 38 in The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals, 2025, pp 473-486 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) are negotiated with transnational corporations (TNCs) by Global Unions. Based on the ILO Core Labor Standards, GFAs are currently the only transnational instrument for unions and workers to act collectively and achieve minimum standards for regulating working conditions and labor relations worldwide in TNCs and partially in their global production networks as well. Implemented in over 100 of the largest TNCs worldwide, GFAs put essentials of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda into practice, moving the governance of working conditions beyond unilateral corporate social responsibility toward globalizing labor-management relations. Still, being negotiated at TNC headquarters, their implementation on the ground is an ongoing challenge for workers, their unions, and local management. To ensure effectiveness, implementation must be a joint management-labor multi-organizational procedure comprising three sets of practices: information dissemination and communication, comprehensive training programs, and operational measures such as monitoring and detailed dispute resolution measures.

Keywords: Business and Management; Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Sociology and Social Policy; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035300907.00048 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:21934_38

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Darrel McCalla ().