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

International framework agreements – Papadakis et al.
employment. For the moment, the only example of a fully fledged collective
agreement addressing wages and other key conditions of employment
at global level is the one reached in the maritime sector. IFAs, on
the contrary, are agreements of principle intended primarily to set up a
general framework of harmonious relations between GUFs/unions and
MNE managements, in particular by ensuring respect for fundamental
principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining throughout
the MNE structure. The parties to IFA negotiations are in fact
engaged both in attitudinal structuring strategies, and in parallel, intraorganizational
bargaining.
What these two forms of bargaining — attitudinal structuring and
intra-organizational bargaining — could generate is a change in attitudes
and mentalities within and between GUFs/unions and MNE managements.
This is an essential step in consolidating a cross-border industrial
relations framework. One might say that trade unions and MNEs function
in this context not so much as classical bargaining parties but rather
as civil society actors shaping and channelling “culture” as a catalyst both
for change in mentalities and subsequently for the formulation of relevant
public policies and laws. If the repeated activity of GUFs and MNEs
in concluding IFAs is sufficiently solidified, self-regulation might be
eventually buttressed with an institutional framework established
through public action. At that stage, it might be possible to move beyond
the two forms of bargaining, which are aimed precisely at building a
common “culture”, towards more redistributive forms of negotiations.
Thus IFAs can currently be described as imperfect forms of industrial
relations instruments, reflecting the outcome of interaction between
individuals (and groups of individuals) in need of organizing their own
dealings at cross-border level, following the dynamics created by globalization.
These instruments may eventually play their part in paving the
way for a fully fledged industrial relations framework at cross-border
level. Related questions that need to be addressed in this process include
the relationship between IFAs and collective agreements at various levels
(national, sectoral, enterprise, etc.) and the role of institutionalized public
action in providing appropriate support but without affecting the autonomy
of the parties, which lies at the heart of voluntary instruments such
as IFAs.
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