European and International Framework Agreements: New Tools of Transnational Industrial Relations

Isabel da Costa (), Volker Telljohann (), Torsten Müller (), Udo Rehfeldt () and Reingard Zimmer ()
Additional contact information
Isabel da Costa: IDHE - Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l'Economie - ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Volker Telljohann: IRES Emilia Romagna - Istituto Recerche Economiche Sociali Emilia Romagna - Istituto Ricerche Economiche e Sociali
Torsten Müller: Forschungsgruppe Europäische und globale Arbeitsbeziehungen - European and Global Industrial Relations Research Group - University of Applied Sciences [Fulda]
Udo Rehfeldt: IRES - Institut de recherches économiques et sociales
Reingard Zimmer: WSI - Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut - Hans-Böckler-Stiftung

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: In recent years transnational framework agreements (TFAs) at global and European level have emerged as a new tool of regulation within transnational companies. Based on an outline of the origins of TFAs, a quantitative overview of TFAs and an analysis of the strategies pursued by global and European union federations in concluding TFAs, this article discusses whether and how these new tools advance the internationalisation of industrial relations. The article concludes that a whole range of sector- and company-specific conditions must exist for a TFA to be signed. Where they exist, TFAs give global and European union federations as well as European Works Councils a recognised place in the area of global social regulation, and there are cases in which they have successfully been used to solve local conflicts. Research carried out by the authors suggests that TFAs, if used strategically, have the potential to contribute to the development of international industrial relations at company level and even, in the long term, to facilitate the trade unions' organising activities. However, because of the small number of TFAs, currently fewer than 150, their contribution to the internationalisation of industrial relations has so far remained limited.

Keywords: European and international framework agreements; Global Union Federations; European Industry Federations; Europeanisation and internationalisation of industrial relations; Transnational bargaining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published in Transfer(t), 2009, 15 (3-4), pp.505-525

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

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:hal:journl:halshs-00787955

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().