An Analysis of International Framework Agreements and Worker's Rights

This report examines International Framework Agreements (IFAs) as a means to protect worker's rights within multinational firms. It defines IFAs as a form of transnational social dialogue, highlighting their role in establishing standards across different countries. The report discusses the content and importance of IFAs, particularly in the context of economic globalization. It explores the challenges faced by trade unions in protecting worker's rights, including the increasing power of MNEs, fluctuating markets, economic crises, and diverse workforces. The report analyzes the impact of globalization on work and employment relations, the increasing number of IFAs, and the organizations that have signed them. It also assesses the effectiveness of IFAs from an employee perspective, distinguishing them from collective bargaining agreements and acknowledging their limitations in practice, such as their responsiveness to market changes and their limited scope. The report emphasizes the benefits IFAs provide to employees, including guarantees against discrimination and access to workplaces, while also noting limitations and challenges in their implementation.

INTERNATIONAL
FRAMEWORK
AGREEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REREFENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
This paper will lay emphasis on International Framework Agreements that helps in
provision of better way through which worker’s rights can be protected in multinational firms.
International framework agreements can be defined as a new form of transnational social
dialogue that helps in attracting attention of practitioners and analyse alike. They are a form of
emerging form of emerging social dialogue. It can also be defined as an uneven extension of
European dialogue across the globe (Bourque and et. al., 2018). It is a kind of agreement that
help organizations to expand and reach beyond boundaries of Europe. It is one of the best
possible way through which workers rights on the basis of both national and international labour
laws can be protected. It can also help organizations to sustain within the market in which they
operate and gain competitive advantage. However, there are various kinds of difficulties that
work as a barrier in protection of trade union in protecting worker’s rights. Working on these
difficulties can help MNC’s to enhance their work and built employability relationship.
MAIN BODY
International framework agreements and global unions
IFA or international framework agreement is a kind of instrumental negotiation between
GUF (Global union federation) and multinational enterprises. It helps in establishing relationship
between parties and ensures that multinational organizations respect same standards in all the
nations or countries in which they operate. These framework agreements are not CSR initiatives
but it is a kind of way through which organizations can successfully express their commitment
towards respect for certain principles (Barreau, Havard and Bah, 2019). Content of these
international agreements varies according to various requirements and characteristics of an
organization and all kinds of trade unions involved. These IFA’s are becoming important as
economic globalization is exposing workers with their employment perspective. These IFA’s
helps in promoting decent work beyond an organization’s borders. All the IFA’s that have been
signed after 2009 also include provision to suppliers of multinational enterprise. These IFO’s
also helps in ensuring international labour standards in all the places where a company operates.
For example, European framework agreement have European scope of agreement. Whereas,
Global union can be defined as a kind of partnership between Global union federation,
international trade union confederation and union adversary committee. It helps in promoting
respect for trade union and human rights globally. It helps the workers to work peacefully based
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upon their economic progress and social justice. It is helping in developing labour movement by
responding to various kinds of challenges associated with globalization.
Difficulties faced by trade unions in protecting worker’s rights in MNEs
There are various kinds of challenges that are faced by trade union in terms of protecting
rights of workers in MME’s. Some of the major challenges associated with trade union in terms
of increasing power of MNE and protection of worker’s rights are as follows:
Fluctuating and diverse market is increasing power of MNE as they majorly relies upon
versatility of labour or worker force. With expansion of technology, globalization providing full
employment returns to unions (Du Preez and Smit, 2017). Because of which power of MNE is
increasing, their relation with employees is also increasing but challenges for British trade union
increasing for protection of worker’s rights.
Due to increasing globalization, employment regulations are getting limited and power of MNE
are increasing over their employees because of which capacity of trade union is also getting
reduced (Burton and Gameson, 2017). In order to increase profitability many MNE’s are moving
abroad because of lower labour cost. It is one of the major challenges became of which workers,
their union have weakened. It has also become one of the main reasons because of
unemployment for trade union workers has increased because of increasing job opening for non-
trade workers.
Economic crises is another challenge faced by trade union in protection of workers rights. This is
mainly because in order to deal with global economic crashing many MNE’s starts cutting down
jobs, reduces wages of the employees because of which unemployment and job insecurities of
workers increases (Fletcher and et. al., 2019). In such economic crises situation trade union fail
to respond to protect rights of workers. MNC’s today are focusing on expanding their network
and becoming less accountable in order to gain more power because of global economic crises
and because of which it is becoming difficult for the trade union to protect their workers rights in
a proper manner.
Many MNE’s taking advantage of diverse workforce as a result trade union are failing to stop
exploitation of workers and face challenges in protecting their rights in MNE’s (Dunlop and
Radaelli,).
Globalization has brought huge transformation in the world. Increasing mobility between
countries have restructured labour that entitled functional flexibility and entitled wages (Helfen,
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Schüßler and Stevis, 2016). Immigrants is a kind of problem for workers as it can create problem
to labour standards. This is because trade union employees used to see foreign nation workers as
enemies. It was creating difficulties for trade union as they supported regulations that hindered
immigration hiring policies and practise. Trade union supports immigrant workers who seek for
job or are immigrated from other countries for job but local trade union employees do not
support it.
Increasing power of MNC to shape work and employment relations
There are various kinds of issues that are faced by MNC’s in terms of their management
across borders. Globalisation have helped MNC’s in shaping work globally in many different
ways. Globalization is also helping them to form new form of trade union in international context
(Wang and et. al., 2019). Trade union have helped MNC’s to represent new forms of
employment relations. Not only this it has also helped in management of employment
relationship in a much better and enhanced manner. Globalization and increasing power of
MNC’s have helped in development of regulations. These regulations shape work and determine
nature of employment relationship in different stats, countries or regions. For example, European
Union has helped MNC’s in increasing level of internationalization has made MNC’s more
powerful due to which employment relationship has enhanced.
Numbers of IFAs and who have signed international framework agreement
It has been observed that number of International Framework Agreements have been
continuously increasing. Till 2016 it has increased up to 115. This includes both IFA’s and
EFA’s (European framework Agreement). According to European Commission in 2017 10
additional IFA’s were concluded and 8 in 2018. These IFA’s have been majorly concentrated on
metal, construction, chemicals, food and service sector industries. It has also been observed that
these negotiations have been initiated by trade unions (Li, Meyer and Thein, 2019). Till not fifty
organizations that operate in different industries have signed these international framework
agreements with five major global federations. First IFA was signed by a French food
multinational company and by the end of 2006 it was accelerated up to 50. Today it has
increased up to 115 that includes major organizations such as Swedish furniture organizations
like IKEA, retailers like H & M, car manufacturers like Volkswagen in Germany and France,
electricity producers like Endesa and EDF, and telecom companies like Telefonica. There are
many other organizations that have signed those international framework agreements, these are
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just examples. But in UK first international framework agreement was signed in 2008 by world’s
largest security solutions group G4S with UNI Property Services. This agreement was applied to
all the employees of G4S spread across more than 111 countries (Lévesque and et. al., 2018).
This agreement state that G4S is going to follow all kinds of national and international labour
laws that are related to their workers. It was the first IFA signed between UK corporation and
global union federation. G4S have signed IFA on Ethical employment partnership.
IAF frameworks helps in anticipating employee relation dispute in order to jeopardizes
the goal of IFAs-to improve workers' as it helps in increasing effectiveness of IAF. Collective
employee-employer relationship within the organization is increased with the help of this (Daly,
Hughes and Armstrong, 2018).
Even after 115 IFA’s they are small in number and are quite limited mong transnational
enterprises that are from outside continental European. Despite of new recent initiatives such as
agreement concluded by UNI Global Union and Brazilian banking company Banco Itaú in 2018.
Spread of IFA’s outside Europe have remained quite limited and it is quite difficult to see that
this situation will change in near future even after social partnership at global level. Due to this
limited spread of IFA’s, its contribution to internationalization of organizations or industries
have been quite less. Most of the IFA’s signed have limited or no concern for border
implications because of which various kinds of conflicts have been increasing. It has also been
observed that its impact on suppliers or sub- contractors have been quite limited (Carrère,
Olarreaga and Raess, 2017). However, these IFA’s do not cover or provide any kind of benefit to
employees in countries like China where national laws are below international labour laws. It
also does not cover countries like United nations where question for international labour law are
raised or credibility as well as reliability of IFA is threatened or questioned.
Effectiveness of IFA’s from an employee perspective
IFA’s provide various kinds of benefits to the employees. They cover entire enterprise
including their subsidiaries, suppliers, employees and joint ventures. It is one of the main reasons
for its success and reduces doubts about organization associated with their commitment to IFA.
It helps the employees to gain guarantee that they will not be discriminated against any factor
and will have access to all the workplaces that are necessary for them to successfully complete or
carry out their respective operations or representative functions. It helps the employees to
address labour relationship issues in every country. This helps the employees to get satisfied that
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their organization is bound to follow all kinds of national as well as international labour laws
which would further help the employees to improve their rights throughout the world (Barreau,
Havard and Bah, 2019). Another benefit of IFA from perspective of employees is that it covers
employees of all level within the enterprises as well as covers their suppliers as well. It also
provides a satisfaction to employees that organizations would not behave in a socially
irresponsible manner until and unless it is for benefit of the employees and their rights will be
protected under this agreement as well as will also help in protecting working conditions that are
suitable for the employees. It also assures employees that they would not be forced for any
decisions because of which their employee rights are degraded.
Distinction between IFAs and collective bargaining and limitations of IFAs in practice
IFA’s are not traditional collective bargaining agreement but are framework agreements
based on fundamental principle and work rights based on national or local agreements. It helps in
creating a new space for national and transnational trade unions cooperation collective
bargaining. It is a way of collective bargaining within multinational organizations. IFA’s
complaints can be raised related to breach of IFA provision, freedom of associated or rights to
collective bargaining. IFA’s can be viewed as start of collective bargaining at transnational
company level. Global union federation view IFA as a kind of opportunity for engagement of all
kinds of companies’ operations in a process of private standard setting for bringing improvement
within condition of workers as well as trade union world- wide (Dahan, Lerner and Milman-
Sivan, eds., 2016). There are various kinds of limitations. One of the main limitations of IFA is
that they are quire unresponsive to any kind of change. There might be various kinds of changes
within the market but those changes are not included in IFA’s. IFA’s are only implemented if the
organization is intended to grow otherwise it is not implemented. Another limitation of these
frameworks is that they might reduce pressure on political solutions and encourage privatization
of social rights.
With the help of IFA many MNC’s have signed their international framework agreements
with global union federations. This helps the organizations to promote good industrial
relationship. These agreement helps in monitoring whether working conditions for workers,
suppliers etc. is being maintained or not. There are various kinds of global unions such as
strategic alliance helps an organization to protect firm’s competitive advantage and also helps in
protecting workers rights in a better manner. It helps in providing a global tool that supports
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workers rights and helps the organizations to express their commitment towards protection of
rights of workers (Otón and et. al., 2018). One of the main characteristics of IAF is that global
trade unions and multinational organizations sign it for ensuring protection of employees and
their rights. It helps organizations to retail within the market in which they operate and maintain
their competitive ness however with this it also helps in protecting rights of all the workers
working within an organization. For example: in UK a campaign to introduce a national living
wage. This campaign was organized in order to address wages issues faced by cross- border
workers. Another example of IFA is global level boycott movement against Nike in which its
products were boycotted by customers when they denied responsibility for any malpractice in
their subcontractor factories (Turpin, 2019).
CONCLUSION
From the above assignment it has been summarized that globalization has helped in
increasing the power of MNC’s which has further helped in shaping work and employment
relationship. In order to protect workers rights, and provide MNC’s to grow and expand
International Framework Agreements which is a new form of transnational social dialogue plays
a vital role. In these agreements both organizations and trade union are involved. It has been
analysed that IAF helps the organization to follow both national and international labour laws
that can help in protecting their workers rights. It has also been analysed that these IAF involves
all the employees (direct/ indirect) within the agreement such as suppliers and many more. It has
also been analysed that there are various kinds of issues or problems that are faced by trade
unions in terms of protection of workers rights in MNC’s. Working on these difficulties can help
in enhancing work and employability.
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REREFENCES
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