An emerging transnational industrial relations? Exploring the prospects for cross‐border labour bargaining |
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| Authors: | Urs LUTERBACHER Andrew PROSSER Konstantinos PAPADAKIS |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva;2. United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), Geneva;3. ILO, Geneva |
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| Abstract: | Global union federations (GUFs) and multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been concluding “international framework agreements” (IFAs) to protect their interests amidst the globalizing economic landscape. By modelling the underlying bargaining processes, the authors show that IFAs can be expected when both sides exhibit risk aversion, although the agreement will favour the less risk‐averse side. Since globalization has created fewer vulnerabilities for MNEs than for GUFs, IFAs have so far typically delivered only minimal benefits for labour. But this should change in the future if strengthened transnational union capacities and abilities to threaten MNEs with reputational costs bring greater equalization of attitudes towards risk. |
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| Keywords: | labour relations international agreement globalization multinational enterprise trade union federation |
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