CROSS-BORDER SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND AGREEMENTS: An ...

International framework agreements in the context of global production – Hammer
Second, multi-stakeholder standards can be interesting instruments,
particularly in the context of buyer-driven value chains, in so far
as their increasing emphasis on process standards (Nadvi and Wältring,
2004) could bridge the gap between the sphere of production and that of
consumption. Furthermore, the development, implementation and monitoring
of multi-stakeholder standards also require alliances with actors
outside the workplace. Such alliances are not always straightforward or
without problems; however, there might be some overlap with more networked
and community-based forms of trade unionism that were advocated
by Wills (2002b; see also Hale and Wills, 2005).
A third line of dealing with the shifts in global production structures
is to refocus the emphasis from enterprise-level and sectoral
approach to one that centres on the cross-sectoral dimension of global
value chains. The differentiation of scale, sector and space points to the
dimensions and challenges of globally dispersed production for social dialogue
and the labour movement. A central implication of the global
organization of production lies in the strategic role of logistics and supply
chain management as well as the employees in these areas. The articulation
of trade union strategies along global value chains probably has to
be seen as a minimum, whereas more substantive advances might be
gained from a cross-sectoral approach which also integrates workers in
the transport and logistics areas. Such initiatives, at the same time, need
not be restricted to coalitions for the duration of particular campaigns.
Bonacich (2003) for example, has put forward the suggestion of global
supply chain councils, similar to world works councils (see also Fichter
and Sydow, 2002 for strategies oriented at global value chains). Such an
articulation of scale, sector and space will be even more challenging when
current observations of a shift towards buyer-driven arrangements in
value chains continue; and it remains to be seen whether regional, or
indeed global, networks can establish meaningful forms of cooperation
and solidarities.
References
Ales, E. et al. 2006. “Transnational collective bargaining: Past, present and future”. Final
report to the European Commission, Directorate General Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Brussels. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/
employment_social/labour_law/docs/transnational_agreements_ales_study_en.p
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