Cross-Border Trade Union Action in a Canadian Multinational Corporation

Abstract

While collective bargaining processes centred on national actors remain the backbone of industrial relations systems, we see the emergence of new forms of collective bargaining within multinational corporations (MNCs), leading to the ratification of international framework agreements (IFAs). The growing importance of IFAs raises many questions regarding, first of all, the characteristics of the international trade union actions and negotiation processes leading to such agreements and also the relevant theoretical model for analysing them. In this regard, this article has a twofold objective: on an empirical level, to document a case involving a cross-border trade union alliance and the negotiation process, which led to one particular IFA, and, on a theoretical level, to evaluate, on the basis of this case study, the relevance of the classical theory of Walton and McKersie as a framework for analysing international collective bargaining processes.