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Page context: Home > Transport International Magazine > Issue 12 July 2003 > Briefing: International framework agreements

At least 21 international framework agreements have now been signed between multinational companies and global union federations. Many of these are in industries long dominated by multinationals, such as the car and chemical industry or chemical industries. In transport there are as yet no international framework agreements signed between the ITF and any global transport companies. At the ITF Congress in Vancouver, however, it was agreed that such international agreements should be considered. It is important, therefore, that transport trade unions become more familiar with IFAs.

What is an international framework agreement?
An IFA is an agreement between a multinational company and its employees which commits the company to respecting minimum labour standards in its operations around the world. These agreements are drawn up and signed by the company and the applicable global union federation (GUF), which represents those affiliated unions with members working for the company.

Typically, international framework agreements (IFAs) offer commitments on trade union rights, collective bargaining rights, information and consultation, equal opportunities, safety and health, minimum wage standards, and the banning of child labour and forced labour. These contracts can offer new safeguards and encouragement to organised labour in a globalised world.
 
How is this different from a code of conduct?
Corporate codes of conduct might cover the same kinds of issues but generally they are written and monitored by the company itself. As such they are in some cases merely statements of good intent, which can be pushed aside by business pressures. In contrast IFAs allow trade unions to take a central part in establishing and monitoring what good conduct will mean.

IFAs depend upon and are accountable to trade unions. They may give signatory GUFs the right to raise any alleged breaches of their provisions with corporate headquarters. Indeed regular monitoring meetings are often built into the agreement itself. In this way national trade unions can use their global union federation to take a particular problem straight to the highest corporate level wherever in the world that may be.

Give a couple of examples
The first framework agreements were signed by the food and allied workers' international IUF and the French-based multinational Danone in the late 1980s. On top of a package of trade union and working rights, later agreements have committed the company to carry out agreed measures in the event of any changes that affect working conditions or contracts - for example changes to technology or production volume or to transfers or closure of any facilities.

The automotive industry has joined the trend towards developing IFAs more recently. The Declaration of Social Rights and Industrial Relations was signed between auto manufacturer Volkswagen and the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) in June 2002. This guarantees basic trade union rights and respect for national minimum standards of pay and conditions.

What has been the impetus for bringing IFAs about?
The main impetus is globalisation. A national collective bargaining agreement can cover all the local and regional sites of a national organisation. In the same way trade unions increasingly see international agreements as the way to secure recognition from the top of a global organisation for the rights of a multi-national workforce.

This logistical impetus is made more urgent by the realities of the globalisation process, which threaten labour rights in a number of ways. Large companies are increasingly sub-contracting their production activities. This creates difficulties for unions who have to organise workers in far-flung locations and with a multitude of employers - many of whom win business through anti-union, cost-cutting credentials. Meanwhile many global corporations choose new business sites specifically based on the availability of cheap, unorganised labour.

More positively, growing political and consumer interest in corporate ethics has prompted many big corporations to get working on their public image. IFAs can lend credibility to a global company that positions itself as a socially responsible employer.
 
Is there a standard model?
No. But most agreements focus on the issues covered by the core conventions of the International Labour Organisation, particularly numbers 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining. The ILO's Tripartite Declaration of principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy can provide useful guidelines for negotiating an agreement. However, some companies have not wanted direct reference to ILO standards contained in the wording of these agreements.

A common area of tension in negotiating an agreement is the scope of the agreement in applying to suppliers and subcontractors. The companies strongly resist including subcontracted operations within such agreements.

How do unions make sure the companies stick to these agreements?
By keeping open strong channels of communication with members, with senior management and with other unions that have a stake in the company - a process that is facilitated by the GUF. Unions are responsible for monitoring and responding to developments on the ground.

If necessary they can report any violation to the GUF, who can take it straight to the company leadership at international level. If this fails union federations can build alliances among affiliates and with other GUFs and attempt to force companies to respect their agreements. In this way IFA violations can be turned into campaigning issues to improve rights for all workers in the company.
 
Do IFAs help unions expand their organisation in a multinational company?
They certainly should, though this depends upon the strength and determination of the union concerned. The rights of workers to form and develop trade unions are at the heart of most IFAs, which set out to protect and encourage the organising and bargaining activities of the unions they cover. The international federation can intervene to defend local union efforts where local managers are violating an IFA. They can also use the IFA to try and win access for their local affiliates to organise workers in unorganised parts of the company. Some IFAs have gained a commitment of "neutrality" from the company management if employees in any part of its operations decide to organise a union. In other words the company will agree not to engage in activities aimed at discouraging employees from joining a union.
 
What are the limitations of IFAs?
They are only as strong as the unions they set out to protect. The IUF used its agreement with the Accor group of hotels for example (see box), to try and help its affiliates in the UK to get access to workers in the hotels. When meetings were held between hotel managers and union representatives to discuss the issue, managers were reportedly adamant that "every employee had the right to belong to a trade union, but that didn't extend to allowing any recruitment facilities" or representation in the grievance and disciplinary procedure.

There are similar problems in New Zealand, where violations of the agreement have occurred, but where again the Accor chain is very poorly unionised. The IUF has raised the breaches of the IFA with regional and international tiers of management, but has not been able to back this up with any union activity.

Give an example of an IFA being used to help workers
The IFA between Statoil, ICEM and the Norwegian Oil and Petrochemical Workers' Union (NOPEF), which was signed in 1998, has allowed ICEM to intervene in a long-standing industrial dispute at the American Crown Central Petroleum refinery in Pasadena, Texas, USA. This refinery only serves Statoil on a long-term contract and the company locked out 256 workers after wage negotiations broke down in 1996.

After using temporary labour to refine the oil for five years, the IFA allowed NOPEF representatives to go through the Statoil office in New York and arrange meetings with local trade unionists and managers in Texas. In January 2001 the issue was finally resolved. The IFA was critical in getting Statoil to intervene in the local dispute.

Section home:
Issue 12 July 2003

Other pages for Issue 12 July 2003:
An opportunity that mustn't be missed | Concessions are a sell-out | Long ride to safety | New union for a new country | Shipping at a crossroads | Regional rescue | Commentary: Talking for tomorrow | Bargaining for Life | Reflections | Working life

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