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

Chapter 3
International framework agreements
as elements of a cross-border
industrial relations framework
Konstantinos Papadakis, 1 Giuseppe Casale 2
and Katerina Tsotroudi 3
ne of the asymmetries generated by globalization resides in the
Ofact that while the scope of action of multinational enterprises
(MNEs) is increasingly global, workers’ terms and conditions of employment
continue to be determined primarily at national level and to vary
widely from one country to another. As noted by the World Commission
on the Social Dimension of Globalization, in the absence of a balanced
multilateral framework for investment there is a risk that countries may
be pushed by competitive bidding for investments to offer concessions
that go too far in reducing the overall benefits and impede the fair distribution
of these benefits (WCSDG, 2004, p. 86, para. 389). One may
add that in such conditions, workers and their trade unions may not be
in a position to bargain effectively, if at all. This chapter examines international
framework agreements (IFAs) as one possible way to overcome
this asymmetry.
1
International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS), International Labour Organization.
2
Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration Department, International Labour
Office.
3
International Labour Standards Department, International Labour Office.
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